Fighter
by Marie Darkholme
Summary: Sora and Yamato are cops at Kyoto PD. She has a rough past and is said to be stone hearted. Then Taichi falls into the picture. Can he melt her heart? Taiora, Mimato, Takari Finished
1. Chapter 1

**Fighter**

**By Marie Darkholme**

First Chapter

"Stop right there!" A young brown haired girl shouted at her persecution. But the guy kept running without giving her time to breathe. The girl sighed and kept running after him. Her hair was soaked by the heavy rain that had started falling all the sudden that night.

She picked her gun while she ran. She wanted to shoot the guy so badly but that would mean many formularies to fill and questions to answer so she controlled herself and ran as fast as she could to catch the guy. He ran pretty quick but she had lots of training and wasn't ready to give up just yet. She was never ready to give up. She was a fighter.

The guy turned into an alley less illuminated. The brown haired followed him. She could only hear the heavy rain and the footsteps of her prey. The guy faced himself with a barbed wire fence. He looked behind him, to see the cop approaching really fast. He had never seen a girl run as fast as that cop. He took a glance at the gun she carried in her hands and he didn't think twice. He started climbing the barbed wire.

The girl saw the guy climbing the wire. A huge smirk spread along her face. She speeded up even more, if that was possible. As she started climbing the net the guy jumped to the other side. The girl equilibrate herself on the top and jumped towards, falling over the guy.

She picked her handcuffs and started chaining him. He tried to get her off him but he simple couldn't due to her amazing strength.

"You thought you could get away, you bastard." She shouted as she pulled the guy against the wall. He smirked seeing for the first time his pursuer's face. She was pretty, really pretty. "What are you smiling for, your son of a bitch? Your going to be locked up for a long time." She said. The guy kept smiling and that annoyed her.

"I didn't think police had such babes in their force." He said. The girl's eyes filled with anger. The guy got frightened by those crimson flaming orbs. The last thing he knew she punched him with all her strength on his stomach which made the guy spill blood. Then she pushed him to the floor and kicked him. "Don't you ever say that again or I'll fucking kill you." She said as she pushed him against the wall again.

The guy smirked at her and this got her even more angry. She was about to throw the guy and punch him again when a voice came from the other side of the barbed wire. "Takenouchi stop that." A blond cop shouted at his furious partner. She threw the guy to the floor and stared at her partner.

"What?" she asked, obviously angered by his interruption. The blond glared at her. His blond hair fell to his shoulders as it was a bit longer than normal. He too carried his gun on his hand. He put it back on his belt and walked to her. "You know what. Jyou is going to be pissed off if you send another guy to the hospital. Is the third this month, Sora, and he can't cover for you all the time."

Sora walked to the prisoner and picked him up, grabbing him by his shirt shoulders. "Let's take **this** to the station Ishida." She passed by the blonde pushing the handcuffed guy in front of her. Yamato sighed and followed her.

Back to the station, Sora threw the guy into questioning room. The guy smirked. "I'm not going to say anything until my lawyer gets here." Sora smirked mischievously at him which made the guy loose his will to smile. "We don't need you to say anything. We found enough proves to incriminate you without you even opening your mouth." She smirked. The guy's grin faded in no time. Then Sora walked off the questioning room and walked to Yamato.

The blond looked at his partner. She was one hot girl, especially with those black bike gloves she always used. He had never seen her without them. He wondered several times why she was so aggressive and had such a hate for guys even though she worked only with guys, since there weren't many girls working at the police station. He smiled as she passed him and went straight to the fridge to get a beer.

Sora felt Yamato's glare as she by passed him and launch him a killing look as she picked a beer that she opened and drank in one gulp. She turned and opened the garbage basket, throwing the empty cane into it. As she turned she felt someone else besides Yamato in the room. She sighed and turned to face a blue haired guy with thick frame glasses. He had this angry face that she knew it meant troubles…for her.

She took a glance at her partner that shrunk his shoulders. The boss motioned her to follow him to his office. She sighed once more and followed him. As she walked to the room some other friend cops started whistling. "Again in the chief's office, Sora?" some said as she passed them. She didn't pay attention and continued her way.

The blue haired guy entered his office and sat on his chair behind the large, paper filled desk. Sora entered after him and stood against the closed door. She already knew his speech so she just got mentally ready to hear it… again. Jyou, the name of the police chief sighed as he tapped his fingers on the top of the desk.

"What am I going to do with you?" he rhetorically asked. Sora looked around the office. She knew that office as the palm of her hand from the many times she had been called there, most of them not good. "You're a great cop Sora, but you can keep treating badly every guy you catch. I don't want to suspend you so try to control yourself. I'll ask you once more to go and talk with Mimi. Why don't you open up to her? She won't tell anyone your problems because she's under her profession's rules." Jyou calmly said. Then he stood up and walked to the younger subordinated. He stood in front of her, which caused her to notice his superiority and authoritarian air. She looked right into his eyes and he into hers. He could see pain inside of them but he couldn't get the reason. No one could.

She was a cop for five years now and no one knew anything about her. About her past. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Go talk with Mimi. I expect a report on your condition from her in my desk by tomorrow in the afternoon." Sora slipped to her right side making Jyou's hand fall from her shoulder. Then she turned the door open and left.

The guys started whistling again which caused her volcano to explode. "Shut the fuck up already." She yelled. The guys quickly turned to their work again, murmuring things about her. "I don't know how Ishida can take her." One of the guys said to other at his side. "Me neither."

Sora walked right into the cafeteria and picked up another beer. Yamato was sitting on a chair by the table taking a coffee. She picked a chair and turned her on her fingers so the back of the chair faced the table and sat there, putting the beer cane on the table. Yamato rose his head from his coffee to face an angry Sora, like usual. He had never seen her truly smiling. She was a revolted person and she never smiled.

"What happened?" he asked her. She took a gulp of her beer rudely as she stared at the ceiling. "He sent me to the shrink again." She said. Yamato sighed. "So, is that so bad? At least you can still work." He said.

Sora kept staring at the ceiling not really caring what he said. She was just avoiding his blue ocean eyes. Yamato was the kind of person that could read you to your soul and she didn't want anyone to know what was in her soul. Jyou hadn't that ability. He was more superficial. She took another gulp and ended the cane.

"I guess not." She replied as she stood and went to the fridge to get another. This was told to be her part of the fridge because only she alone could drink the entire stock of beers in it. Yamato sighed as he saw her opening the fridge again. He stood up and pushed the door closed again. Sora eyed him.

"Do you mind?" she asked, glaring at him. He shook his head saying no more. She let go the fridge and sat on the table. "Fine." She grumbled. He walked towards her and sat by her side. "Wanna talk?" he purposed friendly. Sora glared at him and then stood up. "Let's finish this shift already." She replied as she picked her coat and walked off the door.

Yamato followed her. He watched as she walked to the car and opened the door. He had fallen for her a long time ago but she was always so distant, so mysterious. He knew he hadn't any chance so he just gave up and surrendered his heart to another. No guy would ever get a chance with Sora. She was just too damn cold.

Sora walked in the car and waited for her partner to get in; then she started driving. It was only an hour to her shift was over and she could relax. She picked a cassette from the compartment on the passengers side and inserted it in the player. Her body might have been driving the car but her mind was far away from that place.

One hour later she drove Yamato to his house and then drove herself to hers. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She lived in an old apartment in the sub-area of Kyoto city. Drugs and homicides were a constant there but she didn't mind. She had grown up in a place like that and she was used to it.

She went straight to the fridge where piles of filled beer canes along with some necessity things completed the small compartment. She took three of them and sat on the sofa. The television was on and it was passing a really good movie, but she didn't even bother to look at it. She stared at the ceiling instead thinking about her life. She opened one of the beer canes and started drinking as tears made their way down her face.

She took her gloves and stared at the scars she didn't want anyone to see. Then she started remembering all the afternoon. In her head images filled her as she slipped into an unsettling sleep.

----Flashback----

"We have indices that Hiroshi Nikawa is selling drugs in the fourth district, so you two are going on patrol there." Koushiro said to them as they entered in the night shift. Sora sighed and walked in the car. Yamato was on the passengers' seat as always.

She drove right into the heart of the neighbourhood. "What's the address again?" she asked Yamato. She drove to the place and parked the car right in front of the building. Yamato took his gun as she did and they walked to the second floor where the guy supposedly lived. They started hearing screams. Sora's face contracted in anger and her eyes filled with rage.

They stopped at the front door. "At three." Yamato motioned her. He extended one, then two and at three fingers, Sora kicked the door sending it down. She took cover and Yamato got in. He looked into the three ways corridor and saw a guy running. He followed him, and Sora ran towards him too. "Stop. Kyoto Police!" he shouted. The guy jumped of the window breaking it. Yamato was preparing himself to follow when he saw the little figure of a girl in the corner of the room.

Sora rushed into the room and looked at her partner. Then her eyes met the sixteen years old girl, curled naked on the floor, blood around her and her face marked with cuts and bruises. Sora veins swelled with rage and she jumped of the window in persecution of the guy.

----End of Flashback----

Sora twisted in the sofa. Her forehead was covered with a cold sweat. She turned to one way and then turned again while she mumbled. "Leave me alone. Please stop." She murmured while she turned again. The gloves had fallen to the floor along with the beer cane that let out the liquid dirtying the carpet, not that she was clean, nevertheless.

Suddenly Sora sat straight on the sofa breathing fast, soaked in sweat. She stared at the window. The noise of the television filled the air along with the laughing of the people on the show. Sora allowed herself to fall to the couch again, still breathing fast. She picked the television's remote control and turned it off. She then noticed her gloves were off and stared once more at the scars of cuts in her wrists down to the back of her hands.

She looked around for her gloves founding them on the floor along with the cane. She picked them up and put them on. Then she picked the cane and put it on the trash in the kitchen. She looked to the clock on the wall and decided to go do a little of morning jogging.

She went to her room and dressed her training suit, consisting on a pair of large pants and a sleeveless shirt. Then she picked a bottle of water that she put on a small backpack that she always carried in her trainings along with her gun, her house keys and the handcuffs, besides some money.

She closed the door and started walking downstairs since she lived on the eight floor of an old building which had no elevator, or better, it had but it was always out of order. Along the third floor she could hear a man shouting at someone. The she heard the sound of something breaking. She stopped and listened carefully; but then she heard the woman crying and a door slamming so she knew the woman was okay. She suppressed a tear that threatened to go down her face as she continued.

She took her CDs player from her backpack and put on her headphones. Then she began running to the sound of a well known Japanese rock band. She ran down her neighbourhood to a more happy zone were some elder made a walk too. She was running without a sense of direction and she was never tired. She just kept running and running.

She stopped in a small park filled with trees to do some lengthening. She put her foot over a bench and reached it easily with her hands. Then she did the same with the other. After all the lengthening was done she sat down on the bench and took her water bottle that she drank, then spilling some of the water over her head.

She stared at the trees and the people passing by. They seemed so quite and happy with life. Why couldn't she be like them? Why couldn't she feel happy? She knew why. She looked into her watch and decided to get back home and get ready to go meet Mimi at her clinic.

The sky was blue and with no clouds at sight. The day's before rain had completely cleared it. Sora walked into the high central building of the police station and up to the upper floor where Mimi's clinic was. She knocked until a voice from the other side told her to come in. Mimi was, as always, sat behind her large desk with papers all around her and her work glasses pilled on the top of her nose while she took some notes in her personal notebook.

Sora took a seat in the chair in front of Mimi's desk and waited for her to finish whatever she was doing. In fact, Sora had only went there because she didn't want to get suspended and Jyou made largely clear he wanted her to go _or else_.

Mimi looked from the top of papers around her to her client. She sighed, put down the pen and took of her glasses. "Here again, Sora?" She asked her friend. Though Mimi was Sora's shrink she was her friend too and concerned about her. Not even Mimi knew what passed through Sora's mind though being a shrink give her some conclusive clues. Sora watched her friend to notice once more how different they were from each other. Mimi was all girlish. She had long brown hair with blond strikes and wheat eyes matching it. She dressed like any other girl though with simple clothes.

Sora on the other hand was a tomboy, but it was her nature and she couldn't do anything about it. She usually wore black or dark blue and always long shirts and pants. She sighed at Mimi's comment. "You know it's not my will to be here." She grumbled. Mimi stood up and led her to the couch were they both sat.

"And you know you wouldn't be here if you weren't so aggressive." Mimi replied in her kind concerned voice. "I'm not aggressive." Sora disagreed. Mimi took a glance at her and once more noticed her friend's gloves. "Why don't you take off those gloves, Sora?" she asked. Sora immediately covered her hands. Mimi knew the answer forall her questions might start with Sora taking off the gloves, but it was her choice to do it and Mimi could not oblige her.

Though her friend had never told her anything, Mimi had made a diagnosis on her basing on her behaviour. She thought Sora had had a rough past and her father probably hit her, but she also thought that something besides that might had happened to her because of the way she pushed men away from her and the way she hit criminals.

She tried once more to make her friend spill the beans but it was an almost impossible task. Sora was just too damn stubborn and tough, and she had kept the pain inside her for so long that she couldn't get it out just like that. She couldn't. On the couch, Sora started drifting when Mimi started talking. She drifted about her past.

"Sora, are you paying attention to me?" Mimi asked as she noticed her friend's distracted look. Sora looked at her and nodded. "Well like I was saying, I think we should try hypnosis on you." Mimi said. Sora glared at her with an astonished look.

"What do you mean hypnosis?" She asked frightened. "Through that you can revive your memories without you needing to remember what happened. It might be very helpful." Mimi replied with a knowing look. Sora shook her head. "No way, you're not going to spy on my mind Mimi." She said as she stood up and started walking off.

"But Sora, I don't want to spy on your mind; I just want to know how to help you." Mimi shouted but too late; Sora was already walking downstairs and though she heard every single word she didn't care. No one was going to find out what happened, no one. Not Mimi and not anyone.

Sora ran down the stairs and entered the empty locker's room. She went straight to her locker and picked Kyoto PD's official training suit that she usually wore while training. She dressed herself and went to the gym. It was empty at that time and that was what she loved the most. She could train herself without her partners always staring and murmuring. She hated the murmurs.

She went to the boxer bag and started punching it with quick strong movements. She closed her fist and stuck it on the bag that balanced several times, until she stopped it and punched it again. It was her way to shill out. She practiced hard for about half an hour and then changed to a rubber puppet and started practising her karate skills.

Once in a while she murmured something. "They won't know. I won't let them." She whispered as effort sweat dropped from her forehead and some lost strikes of her light brown hair fell to her face.

Unaware to her, there was a person in the room. A young guy was leaned against the wall covered in the darkness of the room, observing her. The guy's eyes mirrored her, every part of her body and fixed her sweated forehead as he tried to understand what she was mumbling. A hand on his shoulder startled him and made him turn and grab the arm of the unknown person.

"It's me." The mysterious person said. The guy seemed to recognize his voice because he let go of him. Then they walked some steps behind staying even more covered in the shadows.

"How are you man? And what the heck are you doing here?" Yamato asked the guy. He looked to the blond and grabbed a lost strike of his hair. "Your hair is longer." The guy said. "And yours is still as messy as I remember." Yamato replied. Indeed the guy's hair was messy. It seemed like a brown bush on the top of his head and gave him a strange look.

"But what are you doing here, Taichi?" Yamato asked his old friend. "I'm in a investigation and the dude you got yesterday is involved so I'm going to need your help, old friend." Taichi replied to the blond. Then he turned his attention to the girl again. Yamato could see his friend's eyes melting while he watched his partner. He sighed.

"She's no fish for your fishhook…or anyone else's." He replied. Taichi melted even more. "You know I like tough girls." He smirked, still mirroring Sora. "Believe me, you're not gone get this one. She's too tough." "No girl is too tough. They all eventually break. But what is she mumbling anyway?" Taichi asked. Yamato tried to pay attention and could figure something out.

"She's saying something about no one will ever know." He replied confused. "What does she has to hide?" Taichi asked. Yamato sighed. "I don't know and I'm her partner. No one knows anything about her life before she came here in fact. She lived with her father. She got the best grades of her entire school and entered the police with maxim grade. But she's so distant and cold. Believe me, she's no girl you would want to fall for." He ended. Taichi sighed. "How can you say that? She's totally hot."

In the middle of the talk, Taichi started walking in Sora's direction, but she was too involved in her spiritual fight to notice his presence. He put a hand on her shoulder. This caused an immediately reaction by her. She picked his hand and projected him to the ground. Then she prepared to hit him with a punch. She closed her fist and stopped inches away from his nose.

"Don't you ever do that again." She coldly replied to him and walked off, passing by Yamato. He almost couldn't hide his laugh and Sora gave him a deadly glare. Taichi was still on the ground in shock for being caught so off guard. Yamato walked to him and started laughing uncontrollably before Taichi's astonished face.

Taichi quickly got up and stared annoyed at his friend. Yamato just gave him the: I told you look.

Sora headed furious to the lockers room, which was in fact, a mix lockers room since she was the only girl in the police. Of course there were secretaries and Mimi but they didn't had lockers because they didn't had to dress their uniforms or train or take a bath there. _How dare he spy on me when he doesn't even know me?_ she though to herself. _And trying to catch me off guard? Stupid guy! Guys are all stupid._

Suddenly a noise coming from the door was heard, interrupting Sora's thoughts. Taichi entered the room and stood right in front of her. She glared at him. "Don't you know how to knock? I could be dressing, you know!"

"Well, in case you forgot you're in the men's locker." Taichi said to her. "Besides I came to apologize you." He extended his hand to her. Sora glared at the man standing before her. Only then she noticed how handsome he was. He had brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. "Apologize accepted. Now get out. I want to get changed." She ordered and started taking some clothes of her bag.

Taichi smirked. "But I want a rematch." He informed her. Sora stared at him like she hadn't heard or understood him very well. "I want revenge." He repeated. "Okay, if that's what you want." Sora spat angrily, putting her clothes back in the bag. "We meet at the tatami." She replied walking off.

He watched her as she left and smiled. _She's tough alright. But I'm getting my revenge…and maybe something else._ He thought to himself. Then he walked up to the locker that had been put there for him the day before and took his own training suit.

Outside, Sora went to the gym again and sat in the tatami, waiting for her opponent, whom she didn't even knew the name. _He's going to pay._ She thought. Yamato approached. The light brown haired looked up at him. He smiled but she didn't retributed it. "How was it with Mimi?" he asked. She crossed her arms on her chest. "The same as always."

Yamato sat in front if her. "I don't get it. What are you hiding from us? We're your friends you know." He quietly said. "I'm not hiding anything." she coldly replied. He decided to drop the subject since he knew she wasn't going to say anything. "So, Taichi defied you?" he asked smirking. "That's the guy's name? It suits his hair." She replied. Yamato let out a small chuckle.

Then Taichi came into to the picture. "Talking bad about me? I can feel my hears burning." He joked. Sora gave him an empty glare and stood as Yamato did too. "Well, try not to hurt each other…much." He said as he walked off the tatami. Sora and Taichi got ready. They looked into each others eyes and walked around like a prey and a hunter analysing each other, though you couldn't really say who the prey was or who the hunter was. Taichi gazed into her crimson burning eyes, while she stared into his chocolate brown orbs.

She stepped forward, testing him, and he immediately stepped backwards. He was on defensive. Sora had played in defensive mode for too long. She stepped quickly ahead and grabbed his wrists. Then she changed her weight to his back still grabbing his wrists and projected him to the ground but he expected that and crawled her making her fall to the ground too. One to one. They got back to their first positions, but Sora didn't give him time to compose himself and punched him on his stomach.

Taichi gasped as her fist emptied his lungs. He embraced his hurt stomach and looked into her eyes. He could see rage in them. _But why? I didn't do anything to her._ He thought, but he wasn't ready to be defeated. He slid to the ground and hit her, making her loose her balance and fall to the ground. Not letting her got up he put himself on top of her grabbing her gloved wrists against the floor. Sora got nervous, like she was feeling claustrophobic, as she felt his body over hers.

He looked deep into her eyes and, for the first time, he saw something more besides rage. He saw fear and pain, lots of pain. This made him loose control. She took this moment and used her legs to project him to the floor and get up. "Guess I win again." She said as she ran to the lockers room.

That night, like every night, except on Saturday and Sunday, Yamato and Sora were on watch, patrolling the streets of Kyoto. He tried to pull the talk to the events of that morning but Sora was as stubborn as a donkey and remained a tomb. But though her mouth was closed her mind wasn't safe from the thoughts about the brown eyed man. There was something in him that made her remember her father and she hated him for that.

She drove the car down an avenue and Yamato motioned her to stop next to a group of hookers on their night spots. "Hey there officer. Wanting to relax a bit?" one of them offered herself to Yamato. He smiled. He and Sora had found this prostitutes several times on their nights and sometimes when they needed information they came to them.

"Come here, Yumeko." Yamato said to one of the girls with brown hair, though it looked black now due to all the painting she had put on it. The girl approached. She looked to both sides as afraid of being watched and then entered to the back seat of the car. Yamato turned while Sora remained motionless, looking through the mirror to the girl in the back sit. She had such hate for them, for having that profession. Anything was better than prostitution, whether it would be a stripper or a drug addicted.

"What do you know about Nikawa Hiroshi?" Yamato asked the girl. She once again looked through the closed window to see if someone was observing her. Then she approached him and whispered. "All I know is Nikawa was supposed to make a delivery today but you guys caught him and now he's fucked. But I don't know what it was."

Yamato took a glance at Sora that was still eyeing the girl through the mirror. She motioned him to let the girl go, and he told her to leave. Yumeko watched once more the apparently empty avenue and left the car. Yamato then opened his window. "C'mon girls, you know you can't be here. Go work to other cops' zone, okay?" he said as Sora started the ignition and they left the avenue. "I don't want to see you here when we come back."

She remained as silent as she had been all night. He tried for the thousand time to make a conversation. He knew her too damn good and knew something was bothering her. Though Sora's past was an inconnu to all the police station, well except for Mimi and Jyou maybe, Yamato could understand her mind states very well, and right now she was in a deep though about something that bothered her.

"So, what are we looking for anyway?" he asked referring to the Nikawa's case that they were working on. They have caught the guy with an illegal immigrant on his house, raping and beating her, but they knew that was only half off his real intentions. Nikawa was a dangerous guy but they just couldn't get enough proves to lock him up for good and that made Sora furious because for her, he should at least be arrested by rape and giving shelter to illegal immigrants.

"Proves." Was her simple, direct and cold as always answer. Yamato then tried smoothly walking into the unknown field of Sora and guys pulling Taichi's name to the conversation. "You know, Taichi's department is after him too." He said. Sora continued driving, as she hadn't heard any of what he had said.

Before this attitude, Yamato got really frustrated and annoyed. "What the hell is going on with you?" he said loosing all his patience and calm, but still Sora remained silently driving the car. She was paying attention to him, but she just didn't bother to reply.

----Flashback----

A sixteen years old crimson eyed girl walked into her house's living room and started picking up the broken glass on the ground along with the beer's canes. On the couch a guy sat. He had his beard pouncing out and needing a cut. His clothes were all messed up and fed to beer. He put his feet over the table in front of him and continued drinking.

"Your bitch. Look what you've done. You're just as worthless as you mother was." The guy shouted angry and drunk to the red eyed girl. She continued picking up the broken glass like she wasn't hearing a thing of what he was saying. "Work your slut. I don't know why I feed you. You should be winning some money somewhere out there instead of being here annoying me."

Still the girl continued to pick up the glass. Sometimes a more sharp point would stick in her fingers making them bleed, but she continued picking the glass. And though she wanted to scream, to cry and to beat the guy she called dad as hard as she could, she remained silently picking up the glass on the ground.

----End Of Flashback----

The shift continued but Sora remained in her quiet position that she had adopted since that evening. About seven in the morning their watch was finally over and Sora went to her house to get a nice and long nap that she was waiting for since the day before. Yamato on the other hand had a date, but not with his girlfriend. It was more like a meeting.

He walked into the pizzeria and sat at one of the empty tables. The waitress came in a flash and Yamato asked for a pizza with mushrooms, pepperoni and extra cheese, his favourite. He waited for the pizza to come and then someone came in the pizzeria.

Taichi looked around and saw his pal sitting at one of the tables. He waved him and quickly went to join him. "Hey dude." Taichi said as he shook Yamato's hand in a guys' manner. He then sat at the table too. "Swell and you?" Yamato replied as he picked a slice of his just arrived pizza.

Taichi called for the waitress and asked some pizza too. "Fine." He replied looking through the window. Yamato glared at his friend. He had changed the past few years. Maybe the pressure of being in the murder's department was taking over him or maybe it was another thing. Yamato and Taichi knew each other since they can remember talking. A few years back they had moved together to Kyoto leaving their families behind and had joined the police but Taichi chose murder's department while Yamato preferred the watch. They barely saw each other now, and if it wasn't for their brother and sister they would have probably lost contact. Hikari was Taichi's sister and she was dating Yamato's little bro, Takeru, for a few years now.

"Are you still thinking about Sora?" Yamato asked his friend. He had noticed his eyes on Sora the all time he was in the police station. "You really can read minds." Taichi joked. Yamato had always had the ability to know what he was thinking. "Yup. It's hard to forget someone like Sora, even if she's cold as ice. But it's even harder to forget those fearful and yet angry eyes of hers when I knocked her down. I never saw a girl watching me with so much rage inside her." He replied to his friend. The eye contact he had had with Sora had made him very confused.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. During the night, while we were on shift she barely talked to me. She isn't feeling alright lately and I can't figure why." Yamato said taking a gulp of his soda. Taichi nodded and picked a slice of his pizza. "But enough with that. Why is murder's department after this guy after all?" Yamato asked, his curiosity beating him.

"Well, he's suspected to have connections with one of the major assassins in the area that we are after. Yamamoto, Kenshi. Do you know him?" Taichi replied while chewing a bit of pizza. Yamato shook his head. "Never heard of." "We want to catch him, besides he's related to two of the most important drugs' Traficant too. Mister Nikawa seems to be a very connected guy."

They finished eating and stepped outside to continue talking. The day was of a beautiful blue sky. Children played in the parks here and there. "How is Megumi?" Yamato asked. Taichi gave him a confused look. "Megumi! Oh! Yeah, Megumi. She left me two months ago." Taichi said without a hint of sadness in his voice, almost like it was the most normal thing to happen. "I'm sorry man, I didn't know." Yamato replied kind of sorry for his friend. "Hey, don't be. She was revealing herself as a real bitch." Taichi replied with a smirk hiding his true feelings.

----Flashback----

A brown haired guy walked into his apartment. As he gave the first step in, he saw several unusual things. For one, his girlfriend wasn't in the living room studying, like she always did. Second, she had several of her clothes spread around the place, like for instance her bra and her shirt. But…no worries. Megumi had always been clumsy. He walked to the kitchen and that was when the really party started.

"Oh yes… yes! Oh!" he heard his girlfriend's voice screaming, but he didn't want to believe what he was listening. He stepped slowly like a cat into the hall and then open the door that lead to his room. He gasped as he lightened the lamps and saw his girlfriend and another guy, making sex, on **his** apartment, on **his** bed.

Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he quickly stopped them. The girl stood up completely naked as the guy. She started saying sorry and making excuses. The brown haired started picking up all her clothes and throwing them outside the door. Megumi picked some clothes that she put on, more like her bra and pants. The other guy was pushed outside along with Megumi and the brown haired slammed the door and leaned against it, finally releasing his suppressed tears.

----End Of Flashback----

"A real slut." Taichi said to no one in particular.

* * *

_Ohayou everyone. As you might see, if you know me as an autor, this is an old story. I'm editing and so I decided to delete and repost it. I hope you enjoy it. I'll try post a chapter a day, so in about seventeen days it'll be over._

_It has minor changes like the names of some characters, com cars and hopefully I've corrected all the grammar mistakes I had._

_For new readers, I hope you enjoy it._

_Sayonara minna_


	2. Chapter 2

**Fighter**

**By**

**Marie**** Darkholme**

Second Chapter

Sora lied on her bed. Though her eyes were closed, she was far away from being asleep. Her gloves were off and stood besides her like always. She was still dressed with her uniform but she didn't care. She turned for the thousandth time to fall asleep, but she couldn't. The nightmares kept hunting her night after night and she couldn't simply forget them. No matter how much time it passed, now matter how far he was, the pain and fear were just too much, and kept coming back.

She finally gave up and opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. Two tears rolled down her face but she quickly wiped them with the back of her hand, feeling once more the touch of the scars he had left on her. She often wondered why she had had the bad luck to lose her mother and go live with a father that wished she had never been born. She often wondered why she kept fighting, what made her going when she had nothing. She had absolutely nothing. She didn't like that life…guess no one would.

Maybe it had been easier if she had just never been born. She stepped off the bed and went to the kitchen where the plates from the night before dinner were pilled up. She turned on the water that started filling the basin. Her eyes were almost closed as she walked in a sleepwalker like state to the fridge and picked up a bottle of milk that she emptied inside a cereal cup, along with some integral cereals.

Meanwhile, the basin was already filled, and as the water kept running it started dripping off of it. "Shit!" she muttered running to it and closing the faucet. She picked a cloth and started cleaning the water on floor. Suddenly a loud sound cut the air. Sora took a little time to recognize the sound as her cell phone. She went to her uniform coat's pocket and picked the mobile.

"Hello!" she muttered sleepy to the other side of the line. "Sora! Is that you? Something happened." Yamato's voice replied from the other side.

In the middle of an abandoned warehouse in the city's periphery a bunch of cops were installing do not cross lines for a murder scene. Yamato was on the phone and was gesticulating a lot. As he saw his partner's car appearing from between the crowd of curious people that had formed there, he send some cops to get her to the place.

Sora walked off her car and looked around. The place was filled with people and some journalists were already making their ways to her. Fortunately two cops appeared and took her directly to where Yamato was. The journalists followed her, always trying to ask questions even though Sora didn't even know what had happened. One girl with brown light hair and brown eyes was particular annoying, but she was no journalist. She was a photograph. She kept walking in front of Sora taking pictures. Sora pushed the girl and walked over the police line.

Yamato was still on the phone. She tapped him on his shoulder and he turned. He had an angry face. "Get your but over here, now" he yelled and then hung down the phone. He then walked her to the crime scene. A girl with almost black hair was lying on the floor. She apparently wore prostitute clothes and Sora immediately recognized her as their informer, Yumeko. The girl had been brutally murdered.

"Fill me in." Sora said as she looked around searching for leads on the murderer. "This is Yumeko, as you may already have noticed. We don't have much information because Takeru is late, but she hadn't her ID with her or her wallet. I could bet in a robbery but this just seems too brutal for a mere robbery, especially one of a prostitute." Sora walked around Yumeko's body and put on a pair of rubber white gloves taking hers but making sure Yamato or any of the people in there could see it. The cops had already marked her body line and took photos so Sora moved her to one side. She had several wounds over her entire body.

"She was strangled." Sora said pointing to some fingers' marks on Yumeko's neck. "The look on her eyes shows it clearly. For the bruises in her arms and her forehead I'd say she put up a fight. There are no exterior signals of rape. Her clothes appear fine, but we'll have to wait for an analysis to be sure." She continued as she pointed some details in the girl's body. Suddenly applauses were heard from behind her. Sora stood as she turned to meet a young forensic doctor with blond hair and ice blue eyes.

"You're late Takeru." Yamato replied cooly as he greeted his younger brother. "I believe you don't even need me. Sora is proving to be a spectacular forensic doctor. I think I'll hire her to help me." Takeru said as he walked to the victim and started examining her body.

"Anything new?" Sora asked as Takeru stood up and took of his gloves. "Nah. Like I said, you'd give an excellent forensic doctor. I can only have more results after running more tests in the laboratory." He smirked. "You know the drill." He said as he walked away, but he was suddenly stopped by a young brown haired with a camera. She started taking him pictures and then headed to the victim.

Takeru grabbed her arm. "Hikari, what're you doing here?" he asked the young woman. Only then Sora recognized the girl as the photographer that had been taking her pictures before. She was about to go and put Hikari out of the crime scene when a guy appeared and grabbed her arm.

"No need for that." He said. Sora turned to meet Taichi's eyes. She immediately looked away. Taichi searched for her crimson orbs. _She has such beautiful eyes._ He thought. "Would you mind releasing my arm?" Sora interrupted his thoughts. Taichi snapped back to reality and released her, a little disturbed.

She immediately stepped towards the girl. "You can't be here." She authoritative informed. Hikari glared at her. "I know." "She knows" She and Takeru said at the same time. Sora looked confused at both of them. "Huh, this is Hikari. My fiancée." Takeru explained. Sora glared at him surprised, but then with a serious look extended her gloved hand. "Congratulations!" she coldly said. Takeru gave her a confused stare as she walked away. Then he turned to Hikari who was also staring at the strange policewoman.

"Is she always like that?" she asked. Takeru took her waist in is arms. "Always." He replied pulling her into a kiss. "I don't know how my brother stands her." He broke the kiss. "She seems to have some kind of trauma, doesn't she?" Hikari started as she watched Sora walking around the crime scene searching for clues. Takeru pulled her into a longer kiss. "Guess so." The girl giggled as his lips touched hers softly turning into a passionate kiss.

Sora walked around the place. The warehouse had white walls and none of them had blood. _She was strangled so that would mean no blood. Nevertheless her defensive wounds suggest that she was beaten up and that would make any place a mess and though this warehouse is abandoned, she would have certainly got into some walls and maybe got some blood on the floor. This mustn't be the primary crime scene. Only her body was dumped here. _She thought to herself. And in fact in the back was a door and in it a bloody handprint, but, as she would find out after the forensic team dust it, without any fingerprints. It wouldn't do them any good even if they had someone to match it. _The murderer is a smart one._ She opened the door and entered another room.

"Where is she going?" Taichi asked Yamato as he eyed Sora from the corner of his eye walking into a parallel room. He followed her as did Yamato. "I can't believe your sister actually is my brother's fiancée." Yamato replied not really knowing why he was following Taichi. "That means, you're going to be part of my family." He said. "Yeah, it sucks doesn't it?" Taichi replied not really paying attention to the conversation as he walked into the same room as Sora was.

The room had a metal table in the middle. In a counter next to it were a bunch of medical tools. Sora hadn't the sliest idea of what kind of warehouse that was but medical tools and instruments there were basically misplaced. The room had another door too. She opened it and discovered a bathroom, with a shower and a lavatory. She minutely inspected the bathroom and found what she was searching.

All the bathroom and room had been cleaned very recently with the DNA killer, bleach. Nevertheless, she found a track of blood in the lavatory pipe. She smiled in satisfaction. Though it wasn't for sure, she could recreate the steps of the killer now. He had brought her there. That couldn't have been difficult since she was a hooker. Then he brought her to that room and killed her. He took her to the secondary crime scene and went back to clean everything. _But why didn't he just killed her and left her here? _She thought. Answers didn't come instantly to her mind.

A sound from behind her shook her out of her thoughts. She looked behind and saw Taichi and Yamato. "What is he doing here?" Sora asked Yamato. Taichi glared at her. _Man, she has no respect at all_. "I can talk for myself you know!" He muttered. Sora glared at him. Yamato watched amused. _This is going to be fun._ "Well, the case is homicides anyway so…he's in the investigation as well."

"We didn't have a good start." Taichi replied approaching a devilish eyeing Sora. "My name is…" but he was cut off before he had the chance to finish. "Spare me the presentation stuff." Sora coldly replied heading out the room. "I know who you are. Let's talk about work. That's why we're here for, after all. There're blood vestiges in the lavatory so I think he killed her here and washed everything. Therefore this is the primary crime scene." She started talking like she was making a report. "After killing her, he dumped her body on the other room. The question is…" she said stopping abruptly and turning to the guys that were following her. "…why the hell did he move the body?" she finished. The look on her eyes told them it was more a self question that directed to them.

Yamato that was used to her logical conclusions shrank his shoulder. She was the brain and, for the most part, the muscles of the team as well. He preferred to come in the back and arrest, especially because with a partner like Sora, you wouldn't want to get between her and her prey. Taichi on the other hand glared at her. _She's pretty, she's hot and she's intelligent. And she's my type and completely understands my work since she does the same thing as I do. To hell with Megumi._

Sora continued walking. "Send a team to that room and turn the place upside down. I want fingerprints, hairs, anything and everything people. Move."

Taichi admired her ability of leading and bossing around. He watched her as she made her way out of the warehouse and into her car, avoiding all the journalists as they tried to extract information. From between the crowds he could see his sister Hikari. He ran to her. "Hey Hikari." He called her. She turned and saw him.

"Taichi…! I've told you not to come talk to me when I'm working." She scolded. He eyed her mischievous. "Oh, I see. So you can talk and do a lot much with Takeru but you cannot even as talk to me while you're working!" He faked to be hurt. She blushed. "You took pictures to the body didn't you?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah, but not as good as I would want because **your friend** stopped me." She replied underlining the word friend. "Why?" "I want copies of them, okay?" he asked. She eyed him confused. "But didn't the police take pictures also!" "Yeah, but their machines suck." He said and smirked. "Besides my sister takes far better pictures than some cops in retire."

Hikari blushed and hit him in the arm playfully. "Who's the girl anyway? I saw you looking at her." she mocked. Taichi's time to blush. "She's Yamato's partner." He replied. "She's pretty, but I don't think she likes you. Or any boys on Earth by the way." She commented. "You should have seen her look when Takeru said we were getting married. I don't know… I think she was angry or something, like marrying was something people shouldn't do. I even though she liked Takeru but he says she's always like that." she finished. Taichi took a time to eat her words. He looked away to Sora that was in the police car writing something in a notebook. "Yeah, Yamato said she never dated since he knows her, and he knows her for five years. Guess she has some kind of trauma. He said she never lets people see her hands either." His gaze rested upon her.

"Look, I must go. Do you wanna have dinner with us?" she asked referring to her and Takeru. Taichi shook his head. "Don't think so, but I call you if I change my mind. I'm not really into watching you two with those puppy eyes looking at each other during the entire dinner. I might get sick like last time." Hikari smacked him on the head and left along with the newspaper personal. Taichi searched for Yamato, who he found bossing around some younger cops. He smirked and approached him.

"Hey, Yama, leave the new guys alone." He playfully said. Yamato turned to him like he was very annoying. "I'm not doing anything…" he said, then put on a devilish smile. "… just teaching the art of being a good cop." "Yeah, right!" Taichi replied. "Where's Sora?" Yamato asked looking around for his partner. "She's in the car writing up something." Taichi replied as his gaze turned to Sora, to meet her crimson orbs watching at him.

Acknowledging Taichi was looking at her, Sora moved her eyes, but not her attention to the paper in front of her once more. She was writing some details for the report they had to do when they got to the police station. _Why were you staring Sora? _She scolded herself mentally. _Is not like you never saw a good looking cop._

Taichi and Yamato walked to the car. Sora started writing again not really wanting to talk to either of them. Yamato walked in the passenger's seat and sat closing the door after him. Taichi approached them and knocked on Sora's window. "No information. Fuck off." She muttered, thinking it was another annoying journalist trying to get information from her. Yamato laughed slightly as did Taichi outside the car. This took Sora's attention and she looked outside to see the brown chocolate eyed looking cutely at her.

She blushed slightly but noticing it, she immediately turned back to her usual cold self. "What?" she asked. Taichi smiled embarrassed and scratched the top of his hair. "Well… I kind of don't have my car with me and… could you give me a ride to the police station?" he asked. In the passenger's seat Yamato burst into laugh.

Sora launched him a deathly glare and nodded to Taichi that entered the back of the car. "How the hell you got here without your car anyway?" Yamato asked still laughing as Sora drove in the highway. Taichi glared at him. "In fact, your brother gave me a ride." He replied crossing his arms on his chest on the prisoner's seat. "Oh so that's why you two arrived together." Yamato concluded.

This comment made Sora curious. She knew Takeru was Yamato's brother but what the hell Taichi had to do with them both. Besides being friends, of course. But even with the curiosity biting her, the auburn haired was just too stubborn to even think about asking them about their relationship.

The trip to the police station was a quite one. Sora remained deep into her thoughts while Yamato and Taichi just watched how distant and cold she could be. Taichi was impressed with her, but in the deep corner of his heart he was starting to feel pity for whatever had happened to her. He wanted to talk to her and make a conversation but he didn't know how to start and he didn't felt comfortable to do so.

Sora drove the car, but only her body was doing it, like always. The road was so into her mind that she didn't even needed to pay attention to it, and thought a part of her mind was concentrated on it, since there was traffic and stuff like that, the other was too deep in her thoughts.

In the police station, Taichi, Yamato and Sora went inside. Sora went directly to her secretary where she started making a report. Taichi and Yamato just sat around talking in the coffee table. Minutes later, a few cops came in and went to the coffee machine.

"Hey, Yama, who's the guy with you?" One of them asked. "This is Taichi from homicides department." Yamato said turning to Taichi, but Taichi was observing Sora and didn't hear any of the guys calling his name. He watched as she wrote the paper with her gloved hands. He wondered, like many other guys had before him, what did she hid under the gloves. The cop that had arrived looked to Taichi and followed his gaze to Sora. This caused him too laugh and Taichi turned his attention to them. The elder policeman put on a serious look as he talked.

"Don't look at her like that. She can feel it and then you can consider yourself as a death man." He said and took a gulp of his coffee. "She might be pretty and intelligent but it's only appearance. That girl is colder than ice. Her heart is made of stone and her eyes are the only thing that denies that iceberg inside her." He said. The cops got quite for instants like Sora was some king of forbidden topic, a taboo. Taichi could figure that many of them had felt more than sympathy for her, but he could also see how their hearts were broken. She had broken them._ What makes you think you'll be any different? _He asked himself as he gazed into her **apparently** fragile figure.

It was then that something happened that got his attention. She raised her head from the paper but still not high enough for someone to look into her eyes and brushed the back of her hand on her cheek. Taichi watched amazed and silently as he saw what appears to be Sora wiping a tear from her face. _Maybe she's not as stone hearted as they think_. He thought.

He looked to the guys talking about some cases that they had had about murders. He took this moment to walk silently to Sora. He came from her front so she could see him and not being caught by surprise, though it was hard to catch Sora by surprise. He approached her busy desk and coughed.

Acknowledging the presence of someone, Sora immediately put back her cold and tough stare. She raised her head as she heard the person cough and put it back down writing again as she saw Taichi standing there. "What do you want?" she asked. Taichi ignored her cold voice. "Are you okay?" he asked. She stared at him like he was crazy or something. "Of course, why shouldn't I be?" she replied. Taichi sighed. It was going to be hard to break the ice between them.

"I kind of saw you crying." He replied not really knowing how to say it. Sora turned her attention to the report again. "You must have seen it wrong." She said. Taichi put his hands over the table and ducked so he was at the same level as she was. He looked into her face trying to see her eyes but he couldn't. He gazed into her face; her pale face with rose cheeks and her light brown hair falling in strikes that seemed so soft and warm. He felt like to catch a lost strike of her hair that fell to her face.

"Why are you so mean to me? I never did anything to you." He stated. She looked into his eyes. He looked into her crimson ones as hate filled them. "You're right. You didn't, but you guys are all the same." She said and stood up with the report on her hand. Taichi managed to grab her wrist. "Let me go." She said not turning to him, but her voice wasn't hard. It was almost fearful. Taichi sighed and let go her wrist. He watched her as she walked into the chief's office with the report on her hand. He muttered in the meaning of those words and cursed himself. _Stupid Taichi! Why do you always have to fall for the hard ones?_

Sora walked into Jyou's office. Jyou was like always sitting on his chair with piles of papers around him. She handed him the report and prepared to leave but he called her back. "Mimi told me you were there, but she also told me that you still didn't tell her anything that can help her with your problem." Jyou said. Sora sighed. "I don't have a problem, okay?" she muttered. "Yes you have and you need help. Is it so hard to understand Sora?" "Yes, it is." "As you don't seem to be cooperating, I think I'm going to suspend you. I want a positive report from Mimi and as I don't have it, you're going to be suspended. Ishida will take over the case and Yagami will help him. You're out." "What?" Sora yelled. "You can't do this? I've worked to hard too see my work being ruined by a guy that thinks himself as the centre of the universe!" "I'm sorry but that's how it's going to be." Jyou said and sat back on his chair. Sora eyed him. "Fine!" she burst angrily.

She wanted to punch him so hard, to torture, to kill him. She turned to the door and slammed it closed. Outside, a bunch of cops, including Taichi and Yamato stared after her, alerted by the noise and the yells. She by passed them all. Her fists contracted so hard that she could break her own bones with the strength she was making.

"Sora, what happened?" Yamato asked as he saw his pissed off friend walking pass him. Sora didn't reply and continued her way outside. She went down the stairs and started punching the wall. _Mother fucker! He can't do this to me. He just can't. I need to work. It's the only thing that doesn't make me think about them._ She thought as she continued punching the wall. Her fists, though protected by the gloves, were already bleeding and the blood soaked the gloves and started dripping out.

Yamato rushed off the building, followed closely by Taichi to find his friend punching the wall. "Sora stop that." He demanded. But she didn't stop. He knew she wouldn't stop until she couldn't bare the pain anymore or she calmed down. Taichi watched as Yamato stood there helpless. "Stop, damn it!" Taichi shouted and walked towards her. He grabbed her by her waist. "**Let me go!**" she yelled enraged. "**Asshole, leave me alone. Fuck off!**"

Taichi kept her held firmly by her waist and tried to catch her hands, but she was fighting too hard and he couldn't do it. He then lost his balance and felt to the ground. This caused Sora to fight against his grip even more. He put his arms around her chest trapping her arms and his legs over hers trapping them as well. Sora wanted to cry but she couldn't, not in front of them. Memories of pain assaulted her mind.

----Flashback----

She was trapped. No place to run. Between her and him there was nothing. She was between the sword and the wall and she didn't have way to run. He approached her, smirking. She feared his actions. Not him, not her boyfriend. He wouldn't do such thing, but he was doing it. She couldn't believe that her life could be even more miserable than it already was.

She just wanted someone to care for her, to love her, but guess that was just too much to ask. She was condemned to live a hard life, and worst than that she, was condemned to live it alone. There was no place to run and sometimes she just wished she never had to wake up every morning. Because in dreams was the only place where she could be happy. But dreams don't last forever and we always have to wake up. _I just wished I never had to wake up._

The guy came near and she started punching him, but she was definitely no match for him and he easily controlled her by wrapping his arms around her.

----End of Flashback----

"**Leave me alone." **Sora shouted in Taichi's arms. "**Why can't you all leave me alone!"** Taichi released her and Sora ran away not even looking at them. Taichi remained on the floor completely in shock. Yamato had watched the entire scene in complete amaze too. "What just happened?" Yamato asked Taichi. He shrank his shoulders and stood up. "Let's find out." He replied walking into the building.

He walked up stairs and went straight to Jyou's office. Jyou was startled by his sudden appearance but he quickly regained his composure. "What happened?" Taichi asked as Yamato entered the room. Jyou gave the both a confused look. "Sora." Yamato said. "Oh, that. I had to suspend her." He said very calmly. "**You did what?**" Both Taichi and Yamato shouted at the same time. "You two are now in charge of the case." Jyou replied.

Though he remained with his authority look and not showing a hint of compassion for Sora, he too felt pity in suspending her; not only because she was an excellent policewoman but also because he knew work meant everything to her. But his superiors had pressed him against the wall cause of her aggressive behaviour and he didn't have any other choice.

"But, Jyou, you know Sora lives to work…" Yamato replied not convinced of Jyou's decision. Jyou sighed. He felt so bad for his actions but there was nothing he could do. If only Sora changed her attitude then maybe he could readmit her. "I'm sorry guys. I know that, but the main board kept pressing me because of her behaviour and Mimi's report wasn't new. She is too locked inside herself and her aggressive behaviour doesn't help." He defended himself.

Taichi watched as the elder's eyes filled with pity and he understood he liked Sora very much. Not as a companion though, but perhaps as a daughter. He understood how hard it should have been for him to make that decision. He sighed and walked off the office. Yamato remained inside, not still defeated.

He looked around the room and it was like the world was going down on him. Now it was going to be much more difficult to interact with the auburn haired since he wasn't going to work with her anymore and for worst he was afraid for her. For what Yamato had said to him and for what he had seen, working was the only reason that kept Sora going. She was a workaholic. What would she do now that she had been suspended?

Sora walked through the streets. Her fists had stopped bleeding but the dry blood had soaked her gloves as well as dropped in her shirt spotting it here and there with auburn spots. _What the hell am I suppose to do now´_ she though angrily. But there was no answer besides the silence. For years since she had finally managed to get out of her house, work had been her only worry. She didn't think about anything else, or at least she tried no to, and her entire strengths were applied on her work.

She entered her old and messy apartment and the tears immediately started falling down her face. She buried her face in her lap and cried. The rude tissue of her gloves scratched her face and, though she couldn't see it, left blur lines of blood, but she didn't mind. She felt like the entire world had turned against her. She was on the hot spot.

The sun continued staring at her, up in the sky, entering insubordinately through her windows. It should be about four in the afternoon but nothing really mattered for Sora at the moment. She had lost track of time as she lied on her sofa. Her only company were a pack of cigarettes and canes of beer. She just watched the ceiling. A lightened cigarette on her hand made his way to her mouth. She took a deep breath and allowed her hand to fall back to its previous place again. She watched as the smoke rose into the ceiling and hit against it, disintegrating in small clouds and then vanishing. Life meant nothing without working.

On her other hand, a beer cane. She dropped the liquid in her mouth and felt it sliding through her throat soaking it with the devilish drink. For hours she lied like that not really caring what was going on in the outside world. The world that had turned its back on her.

The phone might have ringed four or five times…or maybe more. She didn't hear it or simply ignored it; distrusting Yamato would be the one calling her. But in fact, it wasn't only Yamato. Mimi had phoned her twice, but as she didn't pick the phone she gave up. Then Jyou phoned her, but he too gave up. Still there was one person that kept phoning her. That person was Taichi. He was worried about her, but he couldn't make it to her house cause he simply didn't know where it was and Yamato didn't either, so he just kept phoning hopping she would pick up the phone.

Once again, the phone rang. Sora took another gulp of her beer and stood up annoyed by the sound of the phone. But as she did it she stumbled to the ground. She looked into the beer canes to see two emptied already and several others stacked up at hand reach. She hadn't had that much to be drunk. It should have been dizziness for standing up too fast. She crawled to the phone and picked it. "**Stop calling already Ishida**." She yelled angrily to the receiver.

"This is not Yamato, Sora!" a calm voice sighed from the other side. "Yagami! **How** **the hell did you get my number, you asshole**?" an angrier Sora yelled again. "Calm down. I just wanted to be sure that you were okay." Taichi smoothly tried to calm her down from the other side of the line.

"**You don't even know me**." She shouted in disbelief. "**Why would you want to know if I'm okay, huh?** You guys are all the same. **Trying to take the chance when you think we're more vulnerable.**** But let me tell you this. I got caught once, I won't get caught twice.**" She smashed down the receiver.

"Asshole!" she grumbled as she crawled to the couch again and lightened another cigarette. _I must get back to work. They can't that from me…I'm going to do something about it. It's not like they have to keep asking questions about me all the time...like I'm some kind of freak. No one will ever know _She thought to herself as she took another sip of beer.

Taichi sat on his couch and sighed. At least now he knew she was okay, if what he had just been a victim of could be called normal, but still, he had a feeling she would do something dangerous. She was no girl to give up so easily. _What am I going to do?_ He thought, but the answer didn't come, like always.

----Flashback----

The brown haired guy sat there crying the hell out of him. He didn't know what to do now. He loved Megumi too much for her to stab him in the back like that. But he would overcome it, he had too. But would he ever be able to love again? Love means above all trust. Could he ever trust someone like that? Without being afraid of being tricked? The thoughts haunted his mind and this made him cry even harder. Some said that men should never cry but the brown haired could do nothing to stop the tears that flowed down his cheeks. The pain of being betrayed was just too much.

_What_ _did I ever do to deserve this? I didn't do anything. I was the best boyfriend possible. I never forgot her birthday or any important dates in our lives. I spoiled her every time I could, gave her presents, took her out to have dinner in a fancy restaurant or stay late in night dancing in some disco, even knowing I had to go to work in the morning. Wasn't I good enough?_ The thoughts came but the answer to them remained in the deep corners of his mind never to be show…or at least so it seemed.

----End Of Flashback----

Taichi shook his head to drive those thoughts away. Megumi had been the only girl in his adult life. _What if in the end, Sora does the same to me? _The fear was still there and it was too hard to fight against sometimes and those thoughts kept coming. _No she wouldn't be like that. She too seems to have had some bad experiences with guys. I got caught once. What did she mean with that? Caught in what?_

He remained there not really doing anything, lost in his thread of thoughts, not really thinking much of anything out. Then suddenly there was some light in his head. He picked the phone and dialled his sister's number.

"Takeru speaking." The blond's voice answered. "Hey, T.K. it's me, Taichi. Could you call my sister?" Taichi asked. Takeru coughed and thought the brown haired couldn't see it there was a small blush creeping to his cheeks. "I'm afraid that it is kind of impossible since she is in the shower now…but I'm here." He said. Taichi raised an eyebrow. _Kids!_ he thought. "Tell her I accept the invitation to have dinner with you guys." Taichi said. The blond froze on the other side of the line.

"Yeah, sure!" he finally managed to say something and with a quick goodbye hung up the phone. He leaned against the wall. _Oh, no! Taichi's coming._ "**Yagami, Hikari!**" he shouted. He rushed into the shower. Hikari had a towel trapped around her body and her brown light hair fell over her shoulders. "Yes, my love." She said in a innocent seductive way.

Takeru eyed her mischievous. "I love when you do that." He replied catching her in his arms. "What?" Hikari playfully said, faking innocence. "You look so hot with only a towel." Takeru said. "Oh, so that's what you mean. I accept that as a complement." She said. "Your such a bad girl, Hikari." He said and leaned to kiss her neck.

"Who was it on the phone?" she asked. Takeru wasn't paying attention while he caressed and kissed her hair. "Taichi. He said he was coming over to dinner." He distraughtly replied and started kissing her again. "Taichi! Then I must prepare dinner, right now." She replied hurried and rushed out the bathroom. "Oh, man." Takeru complained. "Hey Hikari, that was why I wanted to talk with you. Why do you always invite Taichi…" he continued while he guided himself in a kind of trance to their room.

On the doorway of the bathroom, a completely drunk Sora stood leaned against the wall with a cane of beer in her hand and a towel on the other. "So, out am I?" she smirked mischievously.

* * *

_Second chapter done, fifteen to go._

_Ja ne!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Fighter**

**By**

**Marie**** Darkholme**

Third Chapter

Taichi stood outside the apartment in the eastside of Kyoto. It had white walls and the door was made of wood. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. After a few seconds he could see movements behind the door and then the door opened and a young blond man stood there with a smile on his face.

"Hey Taichi. Come in." Takeru greeted getting out of the way so Taichi could enter. He greeted the younger back and entered the hallway. A soft food aroma was in the air. He took a deep breath and a wide smile spread across his face. Takeru smirked seeing his soon to be brother-in-law grinning. Taichi walked through the known house directly into the kitchen where his younger sister stood busy preparing dinner.

He entered and watched his sister running from one side to another with food and knives and spoons and forks on her hands. "You didn't need to make my favourite food." Taichi smirked breaking the silence only interrupted by the pots sound warming on the stove. Hikari went to his brother and launched herself on him.

"I do everything for my brother." She said as she kissed his cheek. Taichi smiled seeing his sister happiness. He watched her as she put the plates over the table helped by Takeru. He loved them both. He admired Hikari's kindness and thoughtfulness and he admired Takeru's sincerity and inner strength. They were the perfect couple. Once again, he caught himself thinking about having a couple's life. A life that most of his friend didn't think he cared about or even would be able to like, but he did. And he wanted a couple's life. He wanted a woman by his side supporting him all the time. He wanted to be there for her as well. He wanted to hear someone else when he woke up besides the television.

He was shook off his thoughts by Hikari's voice announcing dinner was ready. The three sat at the table. "I'm so happy that you came to have dinner with us." Hikari said as she put a piece of meet in her mouth. "Yup, but I bet T.K. wasn't that happy, right?" Taichi smirked. Takeru blushed deep red and stuck a too large quantity of food on his mouth which made him cough and spill it again into the plate.

Taichi and Hikari laughed at Takeru's behaviour as he did too. Taichi watched as the two love birds exchanged smiles and looks that only couples shared. Once again he got caught on his thoughts but this time, there was a particular girl in them: Sora. Yeah, she was a piece of woman, but she was also very disturbed by something. _Why doesn't he trust anyone? _he thought and as he did he stared at the plate not really noticing Hikari watching him.

Dinner was quite good and Taichi ate as much as he could since he didn't know really how to cook so Hikari's cooks were sacred to him. There was desert too, but not Hikari's desert. It was Takeru's speciality: apple pie. He ate a big slice and joked about Takeru's cooking abilities. By the end of dinner it was getting late. The family sat on the couch talking about work and stuff like that, but Hikari was noticing his brother's worried look and she could almost bet she knew the reason.

Knowing her brother would never tell her about his problems in front of Takeru, she got an excuse and send Takeru to get coffee to the cafeteria two blocks away. Understanding the message Takeru left and Hikari took the chance to wonder about her brother's problems.

"Are you okay, Taichi?" she asked sitting next to him. He smirked. "I knew you didn't need coffee. Poor Takeru, going outside for nothing." He murmured, somehow trying to change the subject. Hikari blushed and punched him playfully on his shoulder. "Okay, then tell me what is bothering you." She demanded. Taichi sighed. "Like you don't know already you smart ass." He joked.

"It's because of a girl, isn't it?" she questioned and sighed. Taichi nodded. "I don't think she's worth it, Tai, sincerely. She has too many problems that you cannot solve. Why do you always pick the wrong ones?" she asked more to herself then to her brother.

"Tell me about it. We don't tell our heart who to love." He sighed and stared to the ceiling lying on his sister's lap. She passed her fingers through his hair. "I phoned her today. She got suspended and I was worried. She told me she had been caught once and she wouldn't be caught twice. She said we, men, were all the same. What do you think she meant?" he asked.

Hikari caressed his hair as she thought in those words. She knew exactly what Sora meant about guys being all the same, but being caught? She couldn't quite figure that one. "Maybe some guy hurt her pretty bad and she is afraid of being caught in that again." She concluded. Taichi looked into his sister's brown eyes. "Hurt! You mean betray or something worst?" he questioned confused. Hikari shook her head. "I don't know. But something must have happened."

They remained there in a lovely brother sister picture with Taichi laying his head over Hikari's lap and she caressing his hair. Hikari had been Taichi's help in every matter after their mom died, when he was sixteen. Though Hikari was only thirteen by the time she was more developed then most girls and she helped him with the girls stuff and replaced his mother in advising.

A noise coming from the door made them both realise Takeru was back. He entered and closed the door behind him. He stared at the picture of the two siblings lying there and smiled. _I wish Yamato and me were that close._ he thought. "Hey! Tai, that's not fair. That's my spot and you can't take over it while I'm gone." He joked. Taichi sat and looked to the younger. "You're right. I must overcome my need for my little sister's caresses." He stood up and kissed Hikari's forehead.

"See you tomorrow." He said. He shook hands with Takeru. "I'm still waiting for your report Takeru." He said and walked off their house.

The next day was a dark rainy one. The winter was rushing in with all his might. A red headed girl walked down to the police station. She sighed and entered. An officer immediately spotted her. He noticed her shoulder length reddish hair and her dark blue eyes the minute she stepped in. He walked towards her as he glared at her. She wore a pair of black pants and a top with a jacket over it.

"Can I help you?" he kindly asked. The girl smirked as she saw the young officer. "Yeah. I'm looking for officer Izumi." She replied a little coldly. The young man eyed her and motioned her to follow him. The red haired girl followed him to an office on a corner next to the reunion room. Inside it was a spiky red haired boy over a table filled with tools and gadgets.

The younger officer knocked on the door and entered while the girl waited outside with a smirk on her face. "Yeah?" Officer Izumi replied from within his office. "There's a girl here wanting to talk to you." The younger officer said and exited the room motioning the girl to come in. _A girl!__ Dumb guy. I knew this would work._ the girl thought to herself. She entered the room and eyed her friend.

"Have we met before?" Izumi asked not really having a clue over the girl's identity. The girl smirked once more. "It's really working. Don't you recognize me, Koushiro?" she spoke in a cold authoritarian tone. Koushiro eyed the girl with a new look. He knew that voice from somewhere. "Sora!" he asked still unsure. The girl smiled.

"What happened?... how…when…" he stuttered. "Shh!" Sora whispered putting her finger over her mouth motioning him to be quite. She then locked the door and shut the curtains closed. Koushiro watched her without really knowing what he should do. "I heard you got suspended." He said trying to pull the talk. "Yeah, and the stupid Yagami got ahead of me." She said angry.

Koushiro immediately decided to put the talk behind, noticing how pissed off she looked talking about Taichi. _Man, she must be really pissed with him._ he thought but got interrupted by Sora pulling him to the chair. "Koushiro, I need your help." She said. "But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about what is going on." She told him. Koushiro eyed her with curiosity and distrust bursting through his eyes. _Oh, no. She has a plan and I'm on it._ he thought knowing perfectly how Sora's mind worked.

"Don't make that face, just promise." She asked. "Okay, I promise, anyone." He said consumed by the curiosity. "Then my plan is this…" she started telling him her plan. Once and a while Koushiro would gasp or shout "What?" but he eventually shut up again and Sora continued explaining her idea. After a half hour, she had finally finished but Koushiro was the one out of breath. "You can't do that, you just can't. Is too dangerous." He said.

"Shut the fuck up. I'll do it, with or without you. Are you in or out?" she asked standing up and mirroring her friend. Koushiro thought about the pros and cos but he knew how stubborn Sora was since he knew longer than Yamato or anyone in the place. "I'm in." he finally decided. Sora smiled with a triumph look on her face. "Just promise that if you get into trouble you'll tell me?" he asked her. Sora sighed. She also knew she needed Koushiro's help and he would not give it to her unless she promised so she did, but not really. Sora was no girl to ask for help. She would rather die than ask for help, especially coming from a man, even if it was Koushiro.

She exited the officer with a triumph look, but she eventually bumped into someone. "Sorry!" she said as she stood up very quickly. Only then she looked to the stranger. She almost gasped as she saw Taichi standing there. "I'm sorry." He said as he tried to help her with the bag she carried in her hands. She immediately got an hostile look on her dark blue lenses and took the bag from him as she walked away.

Yamato and Taichi ignored her and continued walking and talking. As she walked away she could get a piece of their conversation and that was enough to know they were talking about her. She stepped back a little as they stopped in front of the elevator's door waiting for it and tried to catch the conversation. Her mind screamed her to get out of there but her curiosity was too strong to ignore.

She stood against a doorway that led to the stairs next to the elevator. "I don't think she's okay." She heard Taichi's voice. "I mean, she got suspended and you saw how she was. Besides she's not the kind of girl to give up on what she wants, is she?" he asked. She heard Yamato laughing. "Are you in love with her?" he asked. Though she couldn't see it, this made Taichi blush slightly but not enough for Yamato to notice it. "Of course not." Taichi replied. "I'm just worried. You always confuse my crushes with my worries." He finished. By this time the elevator door opened and a bunch of cops got out and Taichi and Yamato along with other guys entered the elevator.

Sora sighed on her spot. She was feeling confused with Taichi but with herself too. She wasn't sure about what she felt anymore. But she was afraid and that feeling was stronger than any other within her. _But can fear be stronger than love? _she thought. _I will eventually fall in love one day? But no, I can't. I must only feel hate for them. Men are all the same. Can't catch me twice. Not me, not again. _and she got out from her spying spot and headed outside the police building.

Later that night the same red haired girl made her appearance on the downside of Kyoto. She walked around the place where drugged and prostitutes worked. She spied their misery from besides her apparently indifference and coldness. Night bars opened their doors to dark businesses. Once and a while, voices shouting and yelling could be heard.

She watched as a sixteen years-old girl stuck a syringe to her skin, feeling better with herself almost the second after. Though her spirit cried in pain, the look in her face made people think she was happy. Sora understood how she felt. She too had been in the limits of pain. She touched her hands and even though they were covered by her usual gloves she could almost feel the scars, but worst than that, was the pain she really felt. That was still too real, was still inside her and awoke her for reality. It seemed like it had only happened yesterday.

----Flashback----

A teen about eighteen entered her house with her graduation diploma. A smile crossed her face as she looked into the golden letters that declared her once more as one of the more intelligent girls in school. In that moment, as she stepped to the podium to get her diploma it was like all the pain and sadness of her life had disappeared. She just wished that her mom could have seen her there, but she knew that some place, where people's spirits go after their bodies die, her mother would be smiling at her.

She entered the house still in a dreaming state and went to her room, not realising the mess that was going on. Maybe if she had realised she could have been able to get out and the incident had never happened. Her ears only heard the applauses that she had gotten from the professors. Not really her friends cause she hadn't many.

In the living room a man stood drunk. He watched as the eighteen paced to her room and followed her. He just wanted to yell at her, tell her she was the reason of all his problems. He wanted her death, like her mother. He was glad that the bitch had died while giving birth. It was one less worry to him. He entered the girl's room and watched her as she lied on her bed, smiling.

That really made him furious. She **couldn't** smile. She **had** to be unhappy. She **had** to suffer. He picked a picture on the wall from his wife that his daughter had for so long. He stepped towards her in a drunken way. The girl acknowledged her father's presence but she only had time to put her hands over her head covering her face. The glass broke and got into her skin. She cried in pain as she saw her father picking another picture of her mother and hit her again.

"**Bitch!**** Don't smile. You have to be unhappy. You ruined my life. You and your mother, that slut."** He said as he stroke her with pictures and other stuff, making the broken pieces of glass pierce through the eighteen's skin. She cried as she didn't know what to do. She felt the blood dripping from her bruised hands as the glass got through her skin. She couldn't quite remember how long she kept cuddling on the corner of her bed, just wishing the guy that she called father disappeared from her life.

----End of Flashback----

It had passed some years since that but the scars had been left for her to remember the pain. The pain that was brought to her by all men. The pain that she didn't want to feel again. From that day on, she made a promise, not to love, because love only caused her pain. And she had kept that promise. She never loved again and she would never love, **never**.

She shook her head as tears started rolling down her face, distracting her from the reason that had brought her there in the first place. Proves. She needed proves to put Hiroshi Nikawa in prison for good and she would get them, even if it was the last thing she would do.

She walked into bar. Without Koushiro's help, it would have been almost impossible to get through with her plan, but now she only needed to act. The place was filled with drunks, but on a corner a few known crooks played cards. She approached them and studied her target's moves.

Yamato and Taichi were on watch and patrolled the streets. Taichi was driving but he wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing as his mind only had one though. He could only guess what curse could someone had made him, to fall in love with the weirdest women he could imagine. Not that Megumi was weird, but he always ended up getting hurt in his love relationship. He envied his sister's luck, or better Takeru's luck cause he knew Hikari would never betrayed him. Why did he always have to be the one stabbed on the back?

Yamato watched concerned his friend as he had a great idea about what he was thinking. He knew how it felt like. Well not really being betray cause no girl had ever betray him, but he could understand pretty well, how Taichi felt falling in love with Sora. There was no way that girl will ever get a guy on her life, unless she would become a totally different person and actually tell her problems to someone. Keeping things bottled up inside is not good and Sora had just too many things to keep bottled. He didn't know what, though, but he knew it had to be something very harsh to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Taichi didn't reply so lost that he was in the thread of his thoughts. Yamato passed his hand in front of Taichi's eyes but still didn't catch his attention, so he put his hand over his shoulder. Taichi moved slightly. "Sorry, did you say something?" he replied keeping his eyes on the road. "Boy, don't tell me you're thinking about a certain crimson eyed?" he asked. Taichi sighed.

"Forget about her. Look man, I know you've been through some hard stuff lately, and as your friend, I don't want you to get hurt again and believe Sora will hurt you more than you can ever imagine." Yamato replied. "You know. I kind of know that but still, I can't figure why she is so cold and distant. She lives for work, better she's the work. And that day I fought her…you should have seen her eyes Yama." Taichi murmured in a kind of inner loud talk. Yamato listened but remained quiet.

"Have you really no idea of what happened to her?" he asked. Yamato shook his head. "No. She doesn't talk about herself at all and she gets pissed every time someone tries to ask her something. Mimi, our psychologist, she says Sora must had some problems with her father, but that only doesn't explain the fact that she is so aggressive towards the guys. That was at least what she said in her last report." Yamato replied.

Taichi kept his eyes on the road. "Do you think he hit her or something?" he asked. These kind of thoughts had crossed his mind several times since he had met Sora. "Yeah, I think he might have but I think something besides her father happened." Yamato said. Taichi suddenly looked to his friend and pulled the police car next to the walk. "Are you trying to say she got rapped or something like that?" Taichi asked.

----Flashback----

Yamato had just entered to Kyoto's police department. He walked inside the large room for the first time in his life. He just loved the smell of coffee in the air, the ringing of the phones and the cop talk. Some of his new mates came to present themselves to him. Then a man with blue hair came in the room and took him to his office.

"I'm Jyou." The man said. "The chief." Yamato shook hands with him as he watched his surroundings. Jyou started talking about some rules in the department, and how to use the copy's machine and stuff. Yamato listened carefully until a brown haired girl came into his view. She had crimson eyes but her face was cold and showed aggressiveness.

Jyou must have noticed the looks Yamato was giving to the girl and sighed. "Don't go that way boy." He replied. Yamato turned to him, shook from his thoughts. "Huh!" he replied not really understanding what Jyou meant. "I said don't go that way. She is your partner but she is no easy girl." He said and accompanied Yamato to the door. "Hey, Takenouchi." Jyou called. Sora turned to see her boss along with a blond boy with blue eyes. Man, she hated blonds.

She went to meet them. "This is your new partner." Jyou said to her, Sora sighed. _I don't need a partner_. she thought to herself. "Try to be nice to him, for exchange. I don't want another cop running away the city because you kicked his ass." Jyou laughed. Yamato looked fearfully to the woman in front of him and then to his new boss. Jyou disappeared into his office, leaving the two partners alone to talk things through.

Yamato looked at the girl. _She's hot._ but then his eyes met and to Yamato it was like an artic breeze had just stepped inside his spring body. She eyed him with so much hate. She extended her hand to him which he accepted and shook. "Takenouchi, Sora." She said. "Ishida, Yamato." He said. Presentations done and Sora stormed off the place back to her office. Yamato could see glares from other cops as he stood there astonished. "Don't mess up with her." A red headed guy came and said to him. "Or she'll break your heart without you even notice."

----End Of Flashback----

"That's why you think she was rapped?" Taichi asked after Yamato told him how he had met Sora. "You didn't let me finish." Yamato said. They had continued the race and were now entering the downside where they could already see a bunch of sluts walking by there.

----Flashback----

Sora drove like a mad in pursued of a suspect. "Car 1726 in pursue of a black Honda in the eastside area 15 calling back for reinforcements. Over." Yamato talked into the communicator. "Got it 1726. Over and out." A woman said from the other side. Yamato could barely see where he was going as Sora drove madly. The black Honda turned in a closed corner, but Sora didn't loose his track, she made a ninety degree turn and pursue the car.

Suddenly out of nowhere, two more police cars crossed in their path, bumping against Yamato's and Sora's patrol car, putting them out of race as the car turned upside down. "Damn." Yamato heard Sora cursing. He crawled out of the car as did she. While he was trying to catch his breath, he could hear someone punching on the car. "**Damn, damn.**" Sora shouted angry. Yamato came to her. He was about to ask her to stop when he suddenly tripped and knocked Sora down to the ground ending over her.

She pushed him off roughly. "**You asshole.**** What are you trying to do? Don't you ever do that again.**" She said raising her fists to him. He paced back with his hands in defensive position. Sora shot him a deathly glare and walked off.

----End Of Flashback----

Taichi eyed Yamato as he told him the events. "But still that doesn't mean she was rapped." He couldn't believe. No it couldn't be the case. Not Sora. She was a though woman. No one would ever get passed her, but still, her father's almost proved actions on her couldn't have possibly result in her separation with the male part of the world. Could they?

Sora watched the crooks at the table playing cards. It was time for her little act. She approached in a casual way. Not seductive but not clumsy either. She had to show them she was in charge of something big, though it didn't look like it since she was a woman. The men didn't notice her presence though she kept eyeing them really close. She approached a little more.

"I have to talk with Mister Nikawa." She said. She watched as the men turned their attention to her. Some of them smiled in a mischievous way that Sora didn't like, but she held her ground and kept firm control over her will to rip their hearts apart. She waited till one of them stood and eyed her. He smirked and once again Sora felt like punching him.

Hiroshi looked at the girl before his eyes. She was pretty hot and her short hair stood great with her blue eyes. He approached her, excusing himself from his playmates. They smirked and he took Sora's hand. "With whom I have the pleasure to be talking with?" he said as he took her hand to his lips to kiss it. Sora knew his game and she liked to play it. She was an expert in fooling and breaking hearts whenever she wanted. She allowed him to take her head, but as he approached his lips she retrieved it. "Sato, Katsumi." She replied. That was her cover identity.

He looked to her, surprised by her move, but quickly regained his composure and walk to her side as she walked off the bar. He watched her body as she moved. She had a pair of leather black pants and a crimson top that showed up just a little of her navel. Though she didn't like to wear that kind of clothes Koushiro had convinced her that was the best way to get Hiroshi's attention.

She went to a lightened place where some beggars were. She stood there waiting for Hiroshi. He quickly arrived and mirrored her from the top to the bottom. "So, what's up babe?" he asked her. Sora just glared at him. "I want to make a deal with you." She replied. He eyed her curious. "A deal?" he said as he approached her. Their bodies were inches from each other. Sora took a look to his features. He was the typical drug dealer. Half made beard, long black coat with his hands on his pockets and gun on the back of his belt. She looked into his eyes. They were blue as well, but his hair was black. In fact he was pretty handsome and had a great body.

He put his hands around her waist pulling her closer. Sora smirked, but inside she was burning like a volcano. _I hate playing this kind of games_. she thought as she took his hands off her. He looked surprised again. _What the hell does she wants anyway? She doesn't seem like a hooker._ "My deal is about a deliver that I need and a contact." She said. Hiroshi got interested. "How much are we talking about here?" he asked. Sora smiled. "What do you have?"

Taichi and Yamato continued their patrol. "You know what?" Taichi replied as he opened his mouth. "This is boring." "Well you wouldn't call it boring if Sora was here to kick some serious' asses over the neighbourhood." Yamato replied also yawning. Taichi hit him on his shoulder. "Shut up!" he said but then he turned his attention to a scene that was passing in a beggars place. "Look who's there, Yama?" he replied and smiled. Yamato looked and smirked. "If it isn't our little friend Hiroshi. Let's pay him a visitor." He said. "Wow, and he is accompanied also. Another hooker, I suppose." Taichi said disgusted and he watched Hiroshi put his hands around the girl's waist. But then something else happened.

"That's no hooker or she wouldn't refuse a little hug like that." Yamato said. "Let's check it out." Taichi agreed and pulled over the car. They both got out and closed the car. Police cars were the major targets of robbery in the neighbourhood. They walked towards the couple and were able to hear their last few words.

Hiroshi suddenly shut up as he saw the two cops approaching. Sora acknowledged someone's presence and turned back. She would have almost jumped from her place, if it wasn't for fear of blowing up her cover. "Hey there officers." He said as Yamato and Taichi approached. They smirked. Taichi looked to the woman but he didn't recognize her. He noticed the detail of her gloves, but he didn't give it much importance since some hookers complemented their styles like that. "So, what're you doing, Hiroshi? Checking on the merchandise?" Taichi said looking at Sora. **_Merchandise!_**_ You bastard, I tell you who the merchandise is._ she though furious but remained quite. Hiroshi kind of took the moment and walked towards her. He put his hands around her a little to low for Sora's taste but she made a note to kick his ass afterwards for that.

"Just wanting to have fun, officer. Know what I mean? That's not illegal, is it?" Hiroshi blinked to him. Yamato eyed the girl confused. She looked like someone he knew but he couldn't remember who. _I must be messing up with the criminal files. _he thought. Sora just eyed, pleased with her cover, that even Yamato hadn't been able to discover.

"We've got our eyes on you, Hiroshi." Taichi said as he walked away. Yamato followed him and both guys entered the car and drove away. Sora waited for them to be away and slapped Hiroshi across his face. He looked to her amazed. "Don't dare touch me again." She said. "It was a hid. Did you want them to know we are dealing here?" he said and pushed her against the wall. _Shit, I blew it._ she cursed. "I'm sorry. I overreacted. You're right." She replied swallowing up her pride, a lot of pride. He released her and smiled. "Sure. I like though girls you know?" he said. Sora controlled once more her will to make him swallow his tongue.

"So, what's the deal about?" he asked her.

Sora arrived pretty late home that day. In fact, it was early because it was six a.m. but who cares? She stepped into the house and lied on the couch half dead. "I'm tired." She replied to no one. Then a smiled crossed her face. The night had gone pretty well. She was amazed how easy it had been to fool Hiroshi. _I thought he had more careful to the people who he made deals with._ she thought and for the first time in a long time, she released a pleasant laugh.

She turned on the couch and picked up the phone. She dialled Koushiro's number. After a few seconds there was a reply from the other side. "Koushiro speaking." "Hey, it's Sora." She replied. She heard a sigh and her face dropped down a bit. "Did you managed to get what I asked you?" she asked excited. "Yup." An even more excited Koushiro replied from the other side. "It was hard but I managed. Hack into the FBI isn't a piece of cake you know? You can consider yourself as Sato, Katsumi, a professional killer searched in fifty countries including the USA and Europe." "You're great. Thanks Koushiro. I own you one." She said. "You sure own, and don't forget your promise." He said. Sora smirked. "Don't worry, I won't." she said and hung off the phone.

_Promise.__ I can't keep that promise._ she though to herself and lied on the couch again.

Back to the police department a very sleepy Yamato stepped in closed followed by a very sleepy Taichi. "Man, I'm out of here." Yamato said as he walked into his office and started filling up some reports. "Did Dr. Takeru called?" Taichi asked a fat lady that was sitting by his and Yamato´s office. Sora's and Yamato's before.

"No, Yagami, he didn't phone but your sister did. She told something about having the pictures ready." Taichi looked to the elder woman. "Okay, thanks." He replied and turned his attention to the papers he had to fill along with Yamato. He started filling them, but something caught his attention.

He peeked off his office to Koushiro's kind of electronic lab. He could hear him talking. "It was hard but I managed…" Taichi heard. He couldn't quite understand every single word but he kept spying on him. "You can consider yourself as …, a professional… in fifty countries including the United States and Europe." He heard him said. Then he saw Koushiro hanging off the phone and staring at it for a while. He seemed to have got lost in thoughts. Then he came back to the world. He shook his head and headed off the office.

Taichi sat back on his chair to see Yamato watching him. He grinned. "What are you doing Taichi?" "Nothing really." Taichi replied. Yamato turned back to his computer where a bunch of files appeared of female criminals.

* * *

_No comments to make, don't forget to review._

_Oh, one comment, if you find grammar mistakes please inform me... Arigatou gozaimasu._

_See ya..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Fighter**

**By**

**Marie**** Darkholme**

Fourth Chapter

Sora lied on the couch and started drifting like she always did. Thoughts filled her mind. Screams and pain, so much pain. Her forehead started filling with sweat as she rolled on the couch. Her hands grabbed her pillow with all her straights as she winced and mumbled not understandable words. She turned again and her body curled like she was afraid. "No more. Please no more." She cried in her sleep. Suddenly she screamed and sat quickly on the couch.

She breathed heavily. Her crimson fake hair had fallen to the ground. She just sat there not doing anything. Then she started crying herself out. _Why do I have to remember it? I don't want to remember._ She sobbed. She rushed into the kitchen and opened one of the drawers from were she removed a knife. She took off her gloves and approached the knife to her wrist. Her cry went deeper and worse then it was.

_No, don't do it. You don't need to do it._ She told herself, but she did it anyway. She cut herself and watched as the superficial cut on her wrist got redder and swelled. She immediately felt better in her skin but not properly with herself. She just couldn't stop the pain inside so she had caught the habit to lighten a bit by causing herself flesh pain. She put the knife back in its place and sat on the floor crying, blood dripping from her wrist.

Taichi had finally finished his paper work. "Are you finished Yama?" he asked his friend and partner. Yamato though was too in thoughts to hear him. Taichi went to his side and peeked on what he was doing. He watched as the profile of several female criminals appeared in the screen of Yamato's computer. "What're you doing?" he asked. Yamato raised his head from the computer screen and looked to Taichi but it seemed more like he was looking through him.

"Don't you have the sensation that you know that girl we saw with Hiroshi from somewhere?" he asked and this time looked to Taichi right into his eyes. He though for a while. "Yeah, I do think I've seen her before." He replied. "Me too and I can't believe she's just a simple hooker." Yamato replied. Taichi grinned. "So you thought you might have seen her in the most wanted of the world?" he asked Yamato. "Yup, so I entered FBI data base to search for some information." Yamato answered. "Good thinking." Taichi said messing up Yamato's hair like he was a puppy that had done a good work.

"Hey, watch the hair." Yamato replied as he picked a comb and put his hair back to his original state. "I'm going home, but first I'm going to see my sister. Want me to say anything to Takeru?" he asked. Yamato shook his head and turned his full attention to the computer's screen again. _This one lives to work as well._ Taichi though as he exited the office.

He walked towards his car, a dark blue Subaru and opened it. He put his belt on and turned on the radio. As he did he lied against the car's seat. _I could go and visit Sora. _he thought, but he didn't know where she lived so he just picked his car keys and drove towards Hikari's work at the newspaper.

Hikari worked at her computer. She was studying the pictures she had taken to the victim's body. She sighed as she couldn't find anything that she thought that might help Takeru and stretched over the chair. She looked into the watch over her desk. _Taichi must be coming soon. _she thought. She turned her attention to some other photos over her desk. She looked into the crimson eyes of the latest crush of her brother. _This girl is pretty weird._ she thought as she picked the photo and watched it carefully.

It was the photos that Hikari had taken her when she was over the crime scene. She watched Sora's clothes and stopped over on her hands. She noticed her black gloves but there was something else too. She tried to see it better but she couldn't. She turned to her computer again and opened the photo file. With the help of her sophisticated software, she enlarged the photo until she could see pretty clear what the mark coming from her gloves was. _A scar!__ How the hell did she got a scar like that over here?_ she thought.

She remembered some stuff her brother had told her about that mysterious girl. She closed all the files on her computer screen and started searching over information about Sora in the police department, schools, hospitals, civil database.

After a few hours searching she finally got something over that one mysterious girl, but still it didn't look like it was much, but she read it anyway.

"Eighteen years old, Takenouchi, Sora is once again the best in the school. This weird girl has reached the top of her class and achieved the maximum grades in the school's history. Unable to interview this genius girl, we were told by some classmates, that the key to her success resides in the fact that she spends most of her time studying. The reason for this over study appears to be a broken heart since her boyfriend broke up with her two year ago. Is she still weeping over it?..."

Hikari stopped. _Boyfriend?_ she thought confused. _She actually had a relationship with someone? God and she was the best of her school, then why police? She could have chosen anything but still she chose police. This doesn't seem right. Something is missing_. she thought as she continued searching.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door that startled her. She stood up and went to get it. "Hey, big bro. It took you a while." she greeted her brother with a kiss on his cheek. "I thought you were in the office. Do you have the photos?" he asked as he stepped in the house and sat on the sofa. "Yeah!" Hikari said and sat at her computer again. "But I think I have something else you might want to see." She replied as she took a sip of her coffee and watched the screen of her computer.

Taichi turned his attention from one of the paintings Hikari had on her wall to his sister. "Where's T.K.?" he asked. Hikari motioned him to stand up and come towards her. He sighed and walked to her. "He's working over that dead body you send him, but he says he's not getting anything from her." She said. "Yeah, I know. Her mouth is a tomb, right?" he replied. Hikari hit him on his shoulder playfully. "Don't make fun of dead people Taichi."

He put himself behind her his hands over her chair and watched the screen as his mouth went wide open. "Hikari! What have you been doing?" he asked her a little annoyed knowing his curious sister had been spying on somebody's personal life again. "Is not spying on anyone's personal life, Taichi." She replied like reading his thoughts. It's the kind of stuff a brother and sister like Taichi and Hikari do with each other's thoughts.

On the screen were several windows opened. One of them was from the civil government about Sora's ID. There were also news paper's news, school year books with photos and stuff. "How do you get all that material?" he asked surprised. "Huh, a good journalist never reveals his sources." She smirked. He glared at her. "So, what are you going to do with all that material, write a story on her?" he asked picking up a chair next to him and sitting.

Hikari watched him. "Do you think I would do such a thing?" she asked slightly surprised by her brother's thoughts. Taichi smirked and messed up her hair. "Of course not." He said. "Just joking, you little brat." Hikari eyed him annoyed as she tried to put her hair back to normal. "You know, you should have kids, you're so much like them." She smirked but her smile faded as she watched Taichi's reaction. His face dropped slightly at the word kids. He wanted kids but for that he needed a family and for a family he needed a girl that loved him.

"I'm sorry." Hikari apologized putting a comfort hand over his shoulder. Taichi smiled pushing away the sadness that had suddenly taken him over. "Well, thinking of which when am I going to be uncle? You and Takeru should work on that." He told her watching her soft pale skin turn almost immediately red. She turned to the computer again ignoring her brother's statement. She picked up a disk and inserted it on the computer so she could copy the files to it.

"Here." She said handing the disk over to her brother. "See for yourself how little Sora was described." Taichi picked the disk and put him on his pocket. "And I will have little children if you stop boring Takeru with dead women." She replied blushing almost immediately. Taichi smirked as he stood up. Hikari handed him the photos. He grabbed them and kissed his sister's forehead like he always did when he was going out.

"Don't you wanna stay over to … dinner?" She glanced over to her watch to see that was pass lunch time and she had only had her breakfast. "No, thanks. Maybe another time." He told her. _I think I'm going to visit someone._ He thought as he made the disk role on his finger on his coat's pocket. He wore a dark coat that reached his feet like detective's usually wear. Underneath it, he wore a black plover with a red strike in the middle and a pair of black pants with shoes.

Sora lied on the floor of her kitchen. She had been crying for what seemed like ever, but still she couldn't stop. She slapped herself. "Control yourself, bitch." She replied as she stopped crying. The lenses she had, had fallen to the ground but she had picked them earlier and put them back on their place.

She stood up and walked over to the couch again picking a cane of beer on the way, but somehow as she took a sip of it he didn't taste to anything. She threw the cane against the nearest wall leaving a mark of beer on it and the beer spreading over the carpet on the floor. She started crying again and put her hands over her face.

----Flashback----

The boy approached her. She started breathing heavily. She had never thought she could feel so much fear from someone then the fear she had of her father. "I though you loved me." She replied. The guy smirked and pressed her against the wall of his own room on his house. "And I love you babe." He said as his lips came closer to hers.

In a normal occasion this was the time she would put her hands over his neck and kissed him back but she had found that impossible as he was doing that to her. She still couldn't believe it. She felt his lips on her and she pushed away. "I don't want to do it." She pleaded him. "Please." He smirked once more as that seemed to be the only thing he knew to do.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her to his bed. She tried to get up but she couldn't as he was already on the top of her. He kissed her neck as his hands travelled over her body and pulled her shirt off. She tried to fight him but she couldn't as he torn her clothes. He put his hands over her bare back skin, but there was something that made him stop. He felt something on her skin, like a scar.

He grabbed her arms with one hand over her head against the bed sitting over her. He pulled her shirt up and she sobbed heavily. He ignored her as he saw the bruises over her entire body. "My God." He gasped.

----End Of Flashback----

Sora screamed as she held her head. "**Stop haunting me, stop!**" She cried. She glanced over to the floor and saw the several empty beers' canes. "Trash." She started picking them and putting them on the trash bin she had on the kitchen. Then she picked her fake reddish hair and her lenses and put them on the bathroom.

It took her a while to pick up all the beer canes since there were lots of them spread all over the floor. When she finally got them all she decided to go run a bit. She glanced over to her watch. She had missed lunch. "Screw it." She thought. She went to her bedroom.

It was a dark place since she had dark curtains covering the light coming from the window and the only light on it was a small lamp on her night table. She went to her closet and took a pair of train pants along with a black shirt that had Skater Boys written on the front in bold white letters. She dressed herself. She watched the darkened room. The bed hadn't been changed for almost a month but so what she never slept there anyway. She had made the couch her bed. At least when she woke up at the night drowned in sweat she could see the moon's light entering the window telling her it had been just another bad dream.

She closed the door that lead to her room and picked her waist pack that she usually carried with her cell phone, keys and some money. She took off the cell phone and threw it to the couch. She picked some money and walked to the door.

She turned the handle and opened the door. At the exact moment, Taichi prepared himself to knock on the door. He watch in amazement as Sora stood there completely in shock by his sudden appearance. She entered the apartment again closing the door, but not completely cause her head was still out watching the guy standing next to it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked but then other thought far more concern then what he was actually doing there. "How the **hell** did you get my address?" she almost yelled standing in front of him with a demanding tone of voice. Taichi watched her carefully in those large pants and large shirt. She always wear clothes two sizes big then her own.

"Well… I was… worried and, I decided to drop by." He said, but watching as her eyes still eyed him angrily. "I asked for your address to Jyou." He added. She eyed him. _Worried? Why should he worry about me?_ she thought. Taichi tried to pick on her house. "Can I come in?" he asked. Sora looked back to her house and then to him. "I was going jogging." She said. She didn't want him to enter her house. It was all too convenient. No man ever entered her house unless they were with a woman.

Taichi watched as her face turned from angry to furious then to fear and shock. _Is it so hard for her letting me in?_ he thought. "So, can I?" he asked. Sora got nervous. She didn't want him to get in, but still, she was surprised by his action and didn't want him to think she was being rude. _What should I do? _she thought. Taichi took the moment and looked straight to her eyes. Those beautiful crimson eyes that he longed to see but he couldn't, because every time he looked deep into them she would break the eye contact, fearing he would discover the deepest of her secrets.

Once again she looked away. She opened the door and allowed Taichi in. She then leaned the door not closing it. Taichi watched her curious about the reason she hadn't closed the door. "Why don't you close the door?" he asked. She didn't reply and went over to the kitchen. "Do you wanna something to drink?" she asked. Taichi nodded as he walked inside the kitchen as well. He watched the old furniture and appliance. Sora opened the fridge and handed him a beer taking one for herself as well.

For the sliest seconds the door was open Taichi could see the fridge was mainly filled with beer. He opened the cane and took a sip of it. "Where's the trash?" he asked holding the closing off the cane on his hand. Sora motioned him to a corner as she took a quit big sip of her beer. Taichi walked to the trash bin and watched amazed the extraordinary quantity of empty canes on it. "Man!"

"What!" Sora said walking towards him. "I haven't drunk them all today." She replied obviously knowing what he was thinking. But as for denying her words when she took a step forward she stepped on her own feet and fell. Taichi got her in his arms and pushed her up close to him. The beer cane dropped to the floor. He got caught by her eyes and in that time the world seemed to stop. He mirrored her eyes, locked on their beauty and power as he leaned towards her silken lips.

Sora watched frightened as the events lead to an unexpected situation. She too got caught in his warm chocolate brown eyes capable to melt the iciest heart, but not Sora's, at least not know. Taichi watched as the slight shine on her eyes turned into darkness and the thinnest love he had felt from her towards him slip through his fingers turning into pure hate and fear. She pushed him away and led him out of her house.

"**Get out, Yagami! Get out and never come back!**" She shouted frightened to him as she slammed the door on his face. Taichi stood there still in shock. For a moment he thought he had managed to tame the wild fearless heart of Sora Takenouchi but he hadn't. He had only managed to cause more hate towards him. He was shocked with how much love she could carry but still not show to anyone. He was shocked by the way a simple kiss could have frightened what it seemed to be the wildest fearless woman he had ever seen.

Sora murmured her stupidity under her breath. **_Stupid, stupid_**_ Why did you let him in? You knew something like this might happen_. she thought to herself cursing the damn moment she had let Taichi in her house. She went back to the living room and sat there waiting. She just hopped he would have gone away and left her alone. She stared at the walls in silence. Suddenly her hand came up from the couch to her mouth a she touched her lips. That kiss had meant something to her that she didn't want it to mean.

_I will not fall in love again, never ever again_. She cuddled in a tiny person ball with her chin close to her knees and her arms around her legs. She remembered how those brown eyes managed to pull out of her the love she was try for so many years to keep inside. The love that had cost her so dearly. The love she would never be able to give to anyone ever again.

Taichi just sat there against the wall hopping Sora would come out soon and he could face her again. He touched his lips believing the kiss had been nothing but a dream. But it had been real. And that kiss, it meant something that he was not ready to admit yet, but still…he loved her. He knew he loved her, but she was so cold, so distant. How could he ever melt her heart? His thoughts raced and always ended up in that magical moment that he had **almost** shared.

Since the break up with Megumi, though he didn't want to admit it, he had been so down that he had never been able to look to another girl. But the crimson eyed had caught his attention. She had such strength and such living spirit that he had never seen before and he loved her for that. He stood up as he made a resolution. He would melt the heart of the crimson eyed. _She will be mine._ He thought to himself as he stepped away from the door. _I will found out what happened to her and then, I'll come back. _he rolled the disk in his fingers as he walked downstairs into his Subaru.

Hikari stood besides the door as she heard steps coming from the hall of her apartment building. Since her apartment was the only one in that floor and Takeru was about to arrive she decided to make him a little surprise. She grinned evilly as she heard the footsteps coming near. Then she grinned even more when she heard the sound of the keys. She waited for Takeru to enter and as he was ready to close the door.

"Boo…!" she screamed jumping into Takeru's arms. He, by his turn, jumped as well making both of them falling to the ground. "You frightened me, Hikari!" Takeru replied trying to make his heart beat normally again. She grinned and kissed him. "Still haunted by the death bodies, sweetie?" she playfully said making a ghostly face as she got off of him.

Takeru grabbed her and pushed her into the sofa. "Not when I have my fiancé protecting me." He said as he kissed her passionately. "After all a Yagami is a Yagami, and you seem like Taichi in most of his good aspects." He said. Hikari smiled at the complement to her loving brother. "Thought you have some of his worst characteristics as well." He replied as he watched Hikari's face changing from an embarrassed Hikari to an angry Hikari.

"For that, I leave you without dinner." She said as she stood and walked to the balcony of their house. The night was falling and Hikari watched as the first stars appeared in the sky. Takeru came from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist kissing her neck. "You're not talking seriously, are you?" he asked as his stomach groaned in hunger. Hikari smiled. "Isn't a beautiful night?" she asked. Takeru moaned something that seemed to be a yeah. "Let's have dinner out, tonight?" she asked turning to meet his pleasant ocean coloured eyes. He smiled as he kissed her forehead. "Whatever you want, my sugar cake." Hikari smiled as he called her sugar cake.

Fifteen minutes later, Takeru and Hikari were outside the apartment's building. She wore a long black dress and her hair was nicely put on a pony tale leaving two loose straights falling to her face. Takeru wore a simple pair of dark blue pants and a whit chemise with the top button opened so he didn't look so formal. He motioned her to wait for him as he stepped away to get their car.

Hikari searched in her purse for a lipstick as she waited for her boyfriend. She wore simple make up in a shy tone of pink matching her rose cheeks. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked to her right to face Sora, but was she different. At least, from the one time she had seen her. Sora wore a pair of black pants tight to her body and a top torn to make it look like wolf claws. Under it she wore another top in tones of crimson. On her hand she carried a bag.

"Hi Sora." Hikari called the older woman. Sora turned her attention from the ground to where she was going and met up with Hikari. _Men.__ A journalist. It was just what I needed. _She thought to herself as she put her hand in her bag and adjusted the gun she had inside it, so Hikari couldn't see it.

"Hello…Hikari, right." She replied not sounding very cheerful. "Yeah. I'm Taichi's sister." Hikari said, extending her hand. Sora got caught slightly surprised. Hikari watched her in silence studying her movements like she always did with everyone. She took back her hand after Sora reluctantly had shaken it. Sora too was inspecting her. She mirrored her brown eyes, noticing how much they resembled Taichi's. But the simply memory of the guy made her remember that evening's event. Hikari got a glimpse of her airily thoughts and smiled as she remembered that Taichi was suppose to visit her early that day.

"Yeah, I can see that." Sora replied coldly. Hikari was not paying attention as she watched the content of the bag that Sora carried so carefully in her hands. _What the hell she wants a fake hair for?_ she thought as she watched the crimson hair in the bag. Sora followed her gaze and immediately put the bag behind her back. Hikari turned her attention to Sora again. "So, you're going for a walk?" she asked. Sora looked around trying to make an excuse to leave. In that moment a black Daweo Matis approached the two young ladies. Takeru opened the window.

"Hey, Sora. How are you?" Takeru asked seeing one of his partners in the murdering investigation. "Great!" she replied. "I see you two are going out so I won't keep you any longer." She passed by Hikari and walked away. Hikari entered the black car. "Do you know what's going on?" she asked him. He shook his head, not really knowing what she meant. "She has a gun and red fake hair in her bag." Hikari replied. Takeru shrank his shoulders as he started the car. "Who knows! Maybe she's doing undercover." He purposed. "But, my brother said she had been suspended." The two lovers eyed each other and then eyed the street again deciding to ignore the incident.

Sora walked fast into a restaurant, or more like a bar. Some of the customers eyed her as she entered the bathroom. She locked herself inside the ladies' room and started changing her clothes. She put on the crimson fake hair and the blue eye lenses. Then she picked another shirt, a blue one and dressed it. The shirt was sleeveless and reached above her navel. She then took a black motorbike's coat and dressed it, putting her gun on her waist under the coat on her back. She then put the rest of the clothes in the bag and walked off the ladies' bathroom.

She went to one of the servants there. "Hey, Daisuke." She called the younger boy. He approached. "Yeah, Sor?" he asked. Sora was like a sister to him. He knew her story and was the only man in which she really trusted. They were friends since ever Daisuke was born because they were neighbourhoods. Daisuke remembers the day that Sora ran to his house when her dad got home drunk for the first time, when she was five years old. He was there when her boyfriend tried to abuse her. He was her shoulder and the only one to who she talked. Her confident.

She took him to a corner of the restaurant and handed him the bag. "Keep this here for me. I'll come to pick it up later, kay?" she asked. He eyed her trying to read between the lines. "What are you planning this time Sora?" he asked putting his hand over her shoulder. She grabbed his hand on hers. "Don't worry, bro. I'll be okay." She said, and as she did she disappeared through the door. Daisuke sighed knowing she was in danger, but he also trusted her to be careful and he knew she wouldn't get caught easily in whatever she was doing.

He was used to her undercover works without the knowledge of the police department. She had so many identities. He bet the one she was using know was of Sato, Katsumi, the famous assassin. He laugh when she talked with him about her for the first time, not really believing she had convinced a colleague to hack into the FBI's database transforming Sato, Katsumi, her fantasy lady, in a world wanted criminal, making her then disappear from the files again. He went back to his work and put the bag close to his things.

Yamato stood by the entrance of the police department building. He looked into the watch every minute. Then he eyed the empty streets as the night fell. He looked nervously around him trying to find someone desperately. The moon had started to climb over the night sky as the stars accompanied her along the path.

He looked into the sky and sighed. He remembered her long brown hair with the blond strikes falling through her shoulders and her wheat eyes. She was a beautiful woman. He waited patiently until finally he heard footsteps. He turned to see who it was and found her standing there. He smiled and retrieved his hands off his pockets.

"Hey Meems." He greeted. She smiled as well. He watched her carefully. She was wearing a long dress that reached under her knees that was pale pink and fell to her shoulders. Her hair was loose and over her shoulders. "Do you need to talk to your shrink?" She amused. He grinned and approached and kissed her. "No." He took her hand. "I needed to talk to my girlfriend." She smiled at his statement. They walked silently not too far from the police department since they were both going to work that night.

They sat on a small bench near a park under a sakura tree. It was their romantic place. Mimi glared to his soft sky eyes. She loved the way they looked so peaceful and kind. Yamato mirrored her too. He could stay that way forever, just looking at her. She was the most beautiful, understanding and sincere girl he had ever met and those qualities were the ones that had made him to fall in love with her. He remembered like a distant memory the first time he had ever seen her. She appeared like a goddess to him, and now she was **his** goddess.

They remained there in silence just looking at each other. After a few minutes, they started talking about nonsense things until Sora's name came across. "How's she?" Mimi asked. She hadn't had news from her friend since she had last checked on her clinic. She got sad when Jyou told her he had had to suspend Sora. Mimi argued with the main board, saying that there was no motive to suspend her, but the main board was inflexible. They said that after all the problems she had caused she needed to be suspended and that she will remain that way unless she changed her behaviour.

"She has been better, I guess." Yamato replied taking Mimi's hand and walking back to the police building. Mimi sighed. "I just wished she wasn't so closed in herself. She builds a wall between us than even I can't break. I guess it's just too painful to talk about whatever happened." Mimi half said, half thought. Yamato stared at the sky were the night had already taken completely over the day.

"But what happened to her, Mimi?" Yamato asked. Mimi shook her head. "I can't say. I think I know, but I can't say. You know that I would be breaking the medical rules." She replied. Yamato sighed. "Yeah, I know. Sorry." He said. Mimi took his head, which was facing the ground now, between her hands. "Don't be. I know you only wanted to help." She kissed his forehead. Yamato smiled at the kindness of his girlfriend and kissed her lips. They remained there, with his lips closing the love between them when Taichi walked happily into building. Yamato eyed him suspiciously.

Mimi took a glance to where Yamato was looking and smiled. She didn't know much about Taichi, but she knew he was in love with her friend and that was enough for her to know that right now he should be feeling miserably, so she was happy that he wasn't. She kissed Yamato one last time before taking the elevator to her clinic.

Yamato followed Taichi. He was humming some song as he walked with his hand in his pockets and his coat over his back. He smiled and patted Taichi on his shoulder. "Hey. Why are you so happy?" He asked. Taichi didn't reply and kept whistling the song. They waited for the elevator to arrive and went up to their department's floor.

Yamato just followed Taichi into the lockers. He knew his friend too well and he knew whatever he was happy about he would tell him when he thought it was the time for it. They got dressed in their uniforms and got out again to do the night watch, or more likely to go and investigate Hiroshi Nikawa and trying to find his dirties.

Sora walked around the poor neighbourhood with her hands on her pockets and her red fake hair shining with the lights of the publicity signs. She watched the hookers trying to win some money with some guys that passed by. Some of them approach them and touched them, but most of the girls didn't even mind. Sora had the will to throw up at that disgusting scene. She was disgust with women like them. She couldn't believe how integrity and dignity meant so little to them.

Suddenly she heard footsteps of a bunch of people following her. She turned into an empty alley and the footsteps kept following her. She turned to meet her opponents. They were five guys grinning evilly to her. She sighed. "What do you want?" she asked them calmly and coldly, thought inside she was shivering in fear. The men grinned and one of them put his tongue off his mouth making sexual signs to her.

"Want to have some fun, hot!" one of them exclaimed. The other laughed. He approached and tried to grab her arm. Sora avoided him. He tried again and with a simple motion of her wrist she broke his nose. The others came near. Sora put herself in combat position as she waited for the others attacks, since the other guy was on the ground trying to stop his nose from bleeding. They surrounded her. One of them came from behind. Sora ducked and made him fall to the ground. She was about to punch him when another guy came from her right and grabbed her arm. She slid under his arm and grabbed it behind its back sending him to the ground which caused him to hit his head. But the other three were trying to get her again.

Another one tried to grab her from the left while the second came from her right. They grabbed her arms and a third one came from the front. She struggled against the two men but she couldn't get loose. They pulled her against the wall and the third approached. "You're a tough girl." He said caressing her chin, but he had already got to near. She hit him straight in his balls making him duck. Then she kicked him again sending him bleeding to the ground. _Three down. Two to go._ she thought. The other two guys tried to control her, but one of them accidentally released her hand and she punched him on the nose, breaking it too. The other guy stood in front of her in combat position. He grinned. She smiled.

He glared into her blue eyes. Then he glanced over her face. "Pity that I'm going to ruin that pretty face of yours." He smiled. He punched her in the stomach and passed his feet under her legs making her loose her balance. Sora fell to the ground. Almost immediately the guy came near her, but Sora rolled backwards and stood. Then she hit the guy in the face. He spit blood from his mouth and punched her too. Sora stood her ground and when the guy tried to kick her in the head she ducked and lowered him. He fell to the ground and Sora took her gun and pointed it to his head.

"Pity that I'm going to ruin your head with a hole." She sarcastically replied. She pulled the trigger and watched the guy closing his eyes, waiting for the impact. She released an evil laugh as she showed him the empty gun. Suddenly she heard claps coming from the darkest corner of the alley. She stood and faced Hiroshi Nikawa. The black haired had watched every single move she had made since she had got in the neighbourhood.

"You were great, Sato." He replied. She smiled as she approached. "I was indeed. But you could have spared your guys from being beaten up. And, of course, from the humiliation" She said. The five men stood up and bowed lining in front of Hiroshi. He motioned them to go and so they did. "So, you knew." He replied, half surprise. "I should have guessed that such a great assassin and thief as yourself would have figures this out easily." He replied rolling his eyes, as they walked through the streets.

Sora stopped abruptly as she faced him. "What about the deal?" she asked. He smiled. "My dear Katsumi,I can call you Katsumi, right?" she nodded. "Let's talk about that in a more…comfortable place." He replied putting his arm around her shoulders. She took them back. "Whatever you say." She replied coldly. Hiroshi eyed her suspiciously.

* * *

_So, I know my chapters are big as hell, but what can I say? I had a lot to write._

_Till the fifth minna_


	5. Chapter 5

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Fifth Chapter

Yamato sat silently besides Taichi in the patrol car. He was a little annoyed with his friend, since he didn't tell him why he was so happy. In fact he hadn't said a word since they had got into the car. He wondered why Taichi was singing and whistling. It didn't seem like him at all. He watched his friend for a while as he drove the car, trying to figure something out of his figure, but he couldn't.

"Fine. If you don't want to tell him, then keep it to yourself." He shouted suddenly behaving like an impacient child and turning his attention to the window. Taichi smirked. He knew Yamato couldn't wait for an answer for a long time, especially from his friends. He stopped since there was a red signal in the street and turned to his angry friend. He put a hand over his shoulder. Yamato acted like he wasn't paying attention and hadn't felt Taichi's hand on his shoulders remaining quietly watching the streets outside the car.

_What a child._ Taichi thought and smirked at the thought of a younger Yamato playing soccer with him in the park. Sweet memories they had together. "Okay, I tell you." He gave up. He started driving again through Nikawa's neighbourhood. Yamato watched as some hookers hid themselves inside the buildings as they saw the police car approaching. He wondered how those girls had ended up having a hard life like that one. Because though many people think that being a hooker is an easy way to earn money, it isn't.

He thought of all the times, he and Sora had busted some guys that tried to get their way with some hookers. He remembered Yumeko, and how she hated that life. He knew her before she became a hooker. She was a respectful girl and worked in a cafeteria in the north area. She had no father and lived with her mother. Though they had always had some difficulties in life, she always managed to overcome them, until the day her mother fell ill and ended up in the hospital.

She tried to overwork and during a month she had four jobs, but they still couldn't cover the bills at the hospital and the medicines her mother needed. She tried to ask help to the social security, but they didn't help her. One day, when Yamato was passing by the streets he saw her. The timid, fragile girl working as a slut to save her mother. Only then he considered that many of those girls had nothing else they could do except for that. He turned his attention from the streets to Taichi again as he heard him starting to tell his story.

"Well, you probably won't believe me, but…" Taichi started, taking small looks to Yamato's face as he drove. "What? Tell me." He rushed his friends. He just couldn't wait to know what had happened. "I kissed Sora." Taichi burst. Yamato stared at him like he was seeing him for the first time. He blinked, brushed his eyes and looked at Taichi with the same astonished look. "I told you, you wouldn't believe me, didn't I?" he replied, seeing Yamato's face.

"You… kissed…! But how…when…?" Yamato tried to ask, but the questions were just too much and came all mixed up. Taichi laughed at his friend's reaction. "Hey, Yama, how do you kiss a girl?" he replied. "Yeah, but how did you managed to get close enough to… she didn't let you, did she? I mean… besides, where did you find her?" Yamato asked. Taichi kept his eyes on the road as he explained Yamato what had happened. At every word, Yamato would look even more surprised to Taichi.

"You found out where she lives?" he asked as he too turned his eyes to the road. They were now entering the same place they had met Hiroshi and the red haired girl. They looked around, trying to get a glance to see if they could find him. Hiroshi was a hard guy to find. "Did you found who the red girl was?" Taichi asked Yamato, trying to change the subject. Yamato cleared his throat, as he searched around the car some papers. He picked them and showed them to Taichi who just nodded. "She's an assassin and a thief. But we don't have many data on her, and neither the world data base." Yamato said. "She's suspected of some crimes, but none of them could be proved."

"Okay. But that doesn't explain what she was doing with Hiroshi, right?" Taichi asked. Yamato simply shrank his shoulders.

Sora walked along with her primer enemy at the moment into a large Mexican restaurant. They sat at one of the empty tables in the darkest corners of the restaurant. Hiroshi walked over to her and pushed her chair, waiting for her to seat. Sora felt like cutting his throat. _How can someone be so false?_ She wondered, and it then occurred to her that she was doing the exact same thing. She sat and then Hiroshi went to take his seat too.

"So, about the deal we have." He said. Sora eyed him, more interested this time. She had finally got his attention to what she wanted. "I think we can become great partners. After all an assassin and thief is always welcome to our business society." He said. Sora leaned against the chair in a less feminine way. "Then the deal is on?" she asked.

Hiroshi leaned against his chair too. Meanwhile, the waitress appeared. "What would you like to have?" he asked. Hiroshi smiled at her. "Whatever the lady desires." He replied. The waitress then turned his attention to Sora. She looked into the menu and asked one of the several plates that were in it, not really caring which one. At the moment her only worry was the deal. The waitress left noting her request.

Sora turned her attention to the blue eyed putting her elbows over the table. He followed her movements and put his over the table as well. "The deal is on, doll." He replied. "Don't call me doll." Sora replied coldly as she sat back again. He watched her every movement as he felt the heat spreading over him.

"Now, that we are business's partners, what about knowing each other a little better." He asked as he put his hand over hers, which was still over the table. Sora made the hugest effort not to take her hand back and slap him for touching her, but she needed him to trust her, and maybe that was the quickest way to do it. She approached taking over her role as Sato, Katsumi, and put her other hand over his. "Yeah, let's know each other a little better."

Hiroshi watched confused as the girl before him changed her attitude and behaviour like the winter wind changed direction. He found her very mysterious and that attracted him, but he knew he had to be careful or else she would stab a knife on his back the moment she could.

They continued talking about themselves. Sora was astonished with herself with the easiness she could make up things and lie to the guy. And he believed every little crap. They ate the food that Sora found to be very good, since she had picked it completely for luck. She kept her eyes over the food as she felt Hiroshi's gaze over her and that annoyed her. She tried to ignore it, but it was kind of hard since he was straight in front of her and every time she raised her head to drink her beer or something she could see him staring.

"You have beautiful eyes." He said as they ended the meal and they were now walking outside again. Sora bit her lip. "Thanks." She replied. She felt him approaching her and putting his hands around her waist. Her heart started beating harder and a flash appeared in her head of a brown haired guy wrapping her in his arms. She pulled his hands away. "I have to go." She replied. Hiroshi eyed her suspiciously. He was really trying to understand her, but he simply couldn't as one moment she was colder than ice, and then she showed herself interested and open to him.

He nodded and watched her as she walked away. Sora wanted to run as fast as she could, but she needed to remain calm not showing how desperate she really was. She started pacing quicker as she stepped away from Hiroshi. Then she stopped at an alley. She leaned against the walls and allowed two tears to roll down her face. She wiped them away, as she slapped herself mentally. She just couldn't stop thinking about him, could she? She remembered every little detail of that afternoon. She remembered the warm embrace of his arms, the softness of his skin and the taste of his lips touching hers. But what she hated more was the fact that she liked it. She had liked it and she wanted more. She sat on the hard floor.

Dark clouds started showing themselves, sailing in front of the beautiful moon. She just couldn't care less. All that she cared for now, was that guy. She longed for the moment their lips closed each other together again. But at the same time, she hated everything that had to do with him, and hated the fact that he had kissed her. She was confused. She didn't want to love him, but at the same time, she wished he was the one guy that would never hurt her, that would do anything for her. She wished he was her prince. She shook her head and whipped another couple of tears that were trying their ways down her face.

"Get real girl. There are no enchanting princesses and shining armour princes." She replied to herself. "Get up, and wipe your tears. You promised you wouldn't cry for another man and you'll not." And she stood up and walked away in the darkness.

The clouds in the sky had completely taken over it and covered the moon that shone above in it. Taichi watched the clouds with his eyes persecuting the sky. Yamato followed him. They entered the cafeteria. "It's going to rain hard tonight." A waitress said as she walked by the two guys. Taichi and Yamato smiled at her as she started taking the dirty stuff off of the table.

She wore a blue sleeveless shirt with the white apron on the top of it. Her purple hair fell to her shoulder, thought a ribbon kept most of them on the top of her head, not allowing it to fall into her eyes. She put all the stuff in a board that she carried in her hands and walked beyond the count.

"Hey, Miyako." Yamato greeted the girl. "Bring us two coffees and two donuts." He asked. Miyako immediately started doing what they had asked her. Taichi stared out the window saw as the rain started falling. At the first there were only soft rain drops falling calmly from the sky, as they had all the time in the world, but then it turned to a convulsive rain, that took everything in front of her. He watched as some people tried to get away of it, some of them entering Miyako's cafeteria.

Yamato watched the girl as she arranged their demands inside the board. There was also another guy with her, with short dark hair. He worked on the coffee machine. Sometimes he could see him looking at Miyako, but she didn't pay him the sliest attention. She got their donuts and coffees ready and walked towards them. She shouldn't be much older then his brother Takeru and Taichi's sister, Hikari. But she was quite tall and had an old appearance.

She walked to them and put the coffees over the table. "So, how's Ken?" he asked her. She looked behind her to her husband on the coffee machine and sighed. Yamato motioned her to sit. Miyako looked around before she did, to see if there were any more customers waiting to be served. As she saw none, she sat. Meanwhile Ken, the dark haired, had walked to the storage to get something.

"He still has that drinking problem, you know?" she sighed. "Yesterday, he arrived very late and completely drunk. I don't blame him, but he really needs help and he cannot admit it." Yamato listened to his friend.

----Flashback----

"Calling for anyone in the 2b block. Over." A voice called. "Car 1726 driving by the area. Over." Yamato replied into the communicator. "We have domestic violence of third degree. Can you reply? Over.".

Sora drove as fast as she could to the indicated address. She rushed out of the car along with Yamato and climbed the stairs in a quick pass. They knocked on the door but as no one answered, they kicked down the door and entered. Inside was a purple haired woman. Her husband was on one corner smashing some bottles and vases. The woman remained silent as she watched the officers got to him.

Sora motioned Yamato to look after the woman, but he refused to do it, watching the hate in her eyes, he knew she would probably beat up the guy. She agreed though not in easy mood as she helped Miyako walk to the sofa.

Yamato went up to the guy and saw him crying. He walked him off the house. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He replied as he hid his face behind his hands.

----End Of Flashback----

"Did he hit you?" Yamato asked. Ken entered the cafeteria common room again and watched his wife talking with Yamato. He slapped himself mentally for his action the day before. He walked with his head down like he was ashamed. Yamato could tell everything that had happened just by his actions. He sighed as he looked to the one that had become his friend since that day.

Miyako looked down not really wanting to face Yamato's stare. Taichi though remained in completely silence eating his morning snack, almost breakfast, since it was four in the morning. Yamato understood his actions. He hadn't been there in that day to see how Miyako was hurt or how upset was Ken for his actions. In fact he always regretted for his actions later, but at the time, he couldn't control himself.

Yamato stood up and walked towards Ken, who was mirroring him with a sad look on his face. Miyako managed to grab Yamato's arm before he could get too far from the table. She stood up and whispered to his ear. "Please, leave it, Yamato." She asked. Yamato looked at her and then to Ken again. He sighed and sat back down.

"If he hurts you again, I'll tell Sora." He smirked. "You know how pissed off she'll be. She kick the hell out of him." He replied. Miyako smiled knowing too well how Sora reacted to domestic violence, but then again, she acted like that towards anything that men did. She had told Miyako once that she should learn a martial art in order to protect herself. At the time, she had laughed from the idea, but sometimes she wished she had taken the advice.

She stood and walked to her husband that only lowered his head at her passage, murmuring something. Yamato watched Taichi as he took a sip of his coffee. He was happy to see him happy. He knew Taichi hadn't face Megumi's betrayal easily, though he always acted tough around them. But still, he knew somehow Sora would hurt him, and on the way she would get hurt as well, and he was afraid of that. He knew her too well. And Taichi wasn't an easy guy either.

Hikari rolled on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She sighed as she watched her clock. Too early to go to work, but still she couldn't go to sleep. She looked to her side. A blond haired guy lied on her next pillow. She crossed her fingers through his hair feeling how soft and warm it was. She watched Takeru as he slept so peacefully as a child. She had no doubt that this was going to be the man with whom she would live her life. She smiled as he smiled too, probably having a good dream.

She leaned closer to him and kissed his lips slightly like a butterfly kissing a flower. Then she swung her feet of the bed and stepped into the warm carpet. She walked to her closet and picked up her robe with which she covered her naked body. She took another look to her soon to be husband, lying on the bed. He turned and smiled as he grabbed her pillow and pulled it closer to him. She giggled at the thought that he might be thinking he's holding her.

She stepped into their bathroom. The robe fell to the ground as the young lady entered the shower. She closed the doors and opened the faucet allowing the warm water to fall on her. She closed her eyes, feeling the cleaning sensation of the water in contact with her smooth skin.

Takeru turned again and his closed eyes met the window. A soft light entered through his pupils and he slowly opened them. He stared at the window, seeing the rain dropping heavily outside. He turned around with a smile as he tried to reach Hikari's body with his arms, but all he met was the pillow he had been holding. He looked around surprised and then to the watch, allowing himself to fall to the bed again, staring at the ceiling.

He stepped off the bed and walked towards the bathroom where he could hear the water from the shower. As he did so, the water stopped. He opened the door staring at the beautiful figure of his soon to be wife. He smiled.

Hikari grabbed a towel and dried her soft, fragile brown light hair with it. The she wrapped it around her and turned only to meet Takeru's embrace. She kissed his lips as she allowed her hands to travel through his bare chest. "Already done, love?" he asked. She smiled. "I was hopping you would wash my back." He said as he pushed her into the shower again. She turned and ran from him.

"No, no, Mister Takeru Takahashi. You must learn to wash your back on your own." She said. Takeru grabbed her arm and made a puppy look. "Besides I've got work to do." She replied getting away from him and closing the bathroom door behind her. Takeru watched as the door closed and sighed, convinced he would have to wash his own back this time.

Hikari entered their room and started dressing herself. She wore a pair of white socks with a light pink skirt and a jacket, as well as her usual scarf. She looked around their messy room. Seeing all the clothes spread over the floor she started picking them up with a smile spreading over her face as she thought about the nasty things she had made the previous night with Takeru.

She made some breakfast for her and Takeru and started eating. The blond entered the kitchen a few minutes after with his normal clothes. His snickers, chemise and pants and his coat over his shoulder. She watched his hair. She just loved his hair. It was so sunny that even in a dark rainy day like this one she could feel the sun shining above them.

He sat by her side as they both started eating. "You were fast this morning." She replied noticing he had taken much less time then he usually did to take his bath. Takeru smirked. "It wasn't so fun, without you washing my back." He replied. Hikari blushed slightly. They continued eating, because there were no words that could replace the looks that they exchanged. It was like this since they were little kids. Every time they were together, they only had eyes for each other. Of course they had their little fights like any good friends but they always ended up well.

Hikari remembered Taichi and Yamato teasing them for having eyes only to each other. It was of everyone's knowledge that when Hikari and Takeru were staring at each other, they couldn't hear or see anything else. It was also known that at that moments they were plotting up some new plan about some devious act.

When they finished eating, Takeru helped Hikari with the dishes into the washing machine. Then he passionately kissed her and left to work. Hikari sighed as she looked over to the tons of papers she had over her table. Tons of paper work to do, and nonetheless none of them was even a bit interesting. She just wished she had a great scoop, so her reputation as a photographer and reporter as well, were finally recognized.

Sora ran as fast as she could upstairs to the police department floor. She crossed the entire full room, since it was time to pass the watch, and headed straight to Koushiro's cabinet. He let out a little scream as he saw the crimson eyed entering his office in such a hurry. "Shit, Sora. You scared the hell out of me." He replied regaining his lost breath. Sora looked over to the window and hurried to close the curtains. Koushiro sighed.

"Oh no! What is it this time?" he replied as he sat back on his chair. She smirked. "I need your help." She replied. "Where's Jyou?" "He went to the lab to pick up some analyses I think." Koushiro replied. He saw the satisfaction look over Sora's face and he prepared himself for whatever she was thinking of, which couldn't be good, since it was Sora he was talking about. She always had the craziest ideas. Like the last one, about undercover without anyone's knowledge and besides she made him promise he would be a tomb, not telling anyone unless she was in danger.

But the fact was that she was always endangered. Hanging around with dangerous crooks like she did all the time… "What is it this time?" he asked leaning back on his chair. Sora picked the chair in front of his desk and turned her attention to the computer. She picked a disk. "Can you make a program that copies data but doesn't allow the computer to make a trail on our actions?"

Koushiro looked to her and then to disk and then back again to her. He could see the hope rising in her eyes as she talked. Sometimes she just looked like a child, full of happiness and longing for adventure. That was the Sora he had known for so many years when they were young but then something that not even he knew had happened and she had become the cold person most of the people knew now. He could almost remember her happy giggles as he, she and Daisuke built their first fort.

They had always had lots of things in common but he wasn't her best friend. Her best friend was Daisuke. He knew she trusted him the most and he knew what had made Sora become so cold and distant but like always he couldn't tell him cause Sora had made him promise and no one had enough guts to break a promise to her.

He remembered their school times when he and Sora played cops with Daisuke. Daisuke and Sora were neighbourhoods and childhood friends, but Koushiro had come a few years later and he lived three blocks away from them, so they weren't so close. He was Sora's friend, but Daisuke was undoubtedly the one she trusted her most deepest secrets.

"Yes, I can do it." He replied with a smile. He would do almost anything to see his friend smile truly and deeply again. "You're the greatest." She said as she jumped from her sit. But then she became serious again. "Can you have it for tonight?" she asked. Koushiro nodded and she exited his office blinking at him. He sighed. "Goody, more work for me." He murmured as he stood up and opened the curtains that Sora had left closed.

She walked downstairs with her cold old self until she bumped into someone. "Hey, watch where you going." She replied rather grumpily as always, but as she raised her head she met up with Mimi. The other woman looked surprised but happy to see her there. Sora sighed, knowing almost too well what was going to happen next.

"Hello, Sora. What're you doing here? I thought you were in a little vacations´ if you know what I mean." Mimi replied with a smile as she dragged Sora over to her office. She always did that when Sora couldn't make the excuse she had to work or that she had to go somewhere. But Mimi always discovered when she was lying so with time she learned the only way to get away from her was really not bumping into her. She cursed under her breath as Mimi dragged her into the office and made her sit in the well to known large shrink's couch.

"I was wanting to talk to you, but you disconnected your phone." Mimi continued as she walked to her desk and picked a notebook that had Sora's name written on the hill. Sora sighed. That was going to be a long morning.

Taichi walked in the police departments' building. He held his umbrella close to him and was closing it, but by the looks that both him and Yamato had, their umbrellas weren't making much difference outside. Yamato's blond hair felt to his face all soaked and even his police outfit was wet, even with his castrate raincoat.

His friend was a lot worse since he was the one driving and so he had to go park the car while he left Yamato at the front door. Taichi's chocolate brown hair fell to his face and some raindrops fell over his cheeks. His usually messy spiked hair was now soaked and blocked his view. He passed his fingers through his hair and sighed. He put down the umbrella that was also soaking and had already wetted the entire floor around it.

They both stepped into the elevator. "That was **a lot** of rain." Yamato commented as he tried to comb his hair in the elevator's mirror. Taichi though didn't even try to comb his cause he knew it would be impossible. His hair could be nastier than a girls' hair after raining. Every time he washed his hair he had to put conditioner in it, otherwise he wouldn't be able to put a comb on it.

"Yeah, that was pretty sudden." Taichi replied. It wasn't raining anymore when they left Miyako's cafeteria but just as they were finishing the shift, the rain started dropping heavily again. They entered the common room where several other cops were wetting the floor as well, while the cleaning woman watched them with homicide eyes, holding a bucket and a broom.

Everyone was annoyed by the sudden rain though it was her time and they sure needed rain, since the last summer had been drier than the Sahara desert. Taichi sat at his desk and started filling all the boring reports that they had to, about incidents and the shift itself. He hated that part. That was mainly why he had chosen to work in murder department cause they only had to fill on papers after all the investigation was done, but doing it every single morning was the more boring thing.

Yamato went to the bathroom and combed his hair properly. He smiled at his reflection, but he was not quite seeing himself but the reflection of a memory of his love. He put the comb back on its original place inside his pocket and walked off to the psychology department. He couldn't wait any longer to see her.

He stopped at her office's door and was about to knock when he heard a familiar voice coming from inside it. He could easily distinguish two women's voices talking. One of them was Mimi's. Her soft, caressing voice was unmistakable, but the other was rude, cold. It seemed like Sora's voice. Though he knew it was not nice to listen behind door he remained there listening to their conversation.

"Common Sora. If you won't do it for yourself then do it for me." Mimi cried to her friend. Sora stood her ground. "No. I will not let you in my head. I told you several time: I don't need any help of any kind. **I'm perfectly fine**." She emphasized as she walked from one way to the other in Mimi's office. Mimi was still behind her desk and was trying desperately to make Sora understand how important it would be for her to make a hypnosis test, but Sora was too stubborn and wouldn't accept that she had a problem.

"I know something happened to you." Mimi shouted stepping from behind the desk and walking towards Sora. She looked at her in the eyes. "I know your father did something to you, Sora. I just want to understand how you feel and try to make you forget." She replied grabbing her shoulders.

Sora freed herself from Mimi's grip. "Nothing happened in my past. I don't know where you got that idea, but nothing happened, okay?" her voice changed into a whisper, like she was afraid she was being heard like in fact she was. It wasn't the same cold, distant voice of the Sora that Mimi had known. It was a different Sora. Her voice cracked into a fearful and child tone.

Mimi watched this change in amazement. In her mind she could only see she had taken another step into Sora's rehabilitation. Interiorly she smiled and congratulated herself for not giving up on Sora.

Sora walked towards the door. Her eyes met Mimi's for only a second, but in that single moment she spoke, Mimi could feel the sorrow and pain in her voice reflecting in her hurt eyes. Sora turned the handle and opened the door. "Look Mimi. I… really have to go." She said as she left.

Yamato watched surprised as his fearless partner walked off the office made in pieces. Sora didn't even see him as she quickened her pace towards the elevator. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears that she didn't allow falling. But in the moment she walked off the building they fell freely through her darkened face along with the raindrops that still bathed the Earth.

Mimi allowed her boyfriend in. She could read in his eyes that there were questions he wanted her to answer. But before he could even articulate a word she locked the office's door and pushed him against it kissing him passionately. Yamato was surprised by her sudden action but it didn't take him long to reply with all his heart to her kiss. He brushed his lips against hers in a ritual of passion and love bursting between the two lovers.

Taichi yawned as he dropped the pen into the desk. He stretched his arms in a catlike manner. His long raincoat hanging in the chair felt to the ground as he stood and a disk dropped out of the pocket. He ducked to pick up the disk and smiled to it. Hikari had said that it would tell him something about Sora. He looked around. All the cops were busy with their own stuff to spy on whatever he might be doing.

He picked his raincoat and went over to Yamato's computer. He inserted the disk and made the files run through the computer. He watched as several newspapers' articles talked about the amazing girl of Odaiba's High that had the best grades ever in the school. He saw her end of year course book. He watched all the photos one by one.

His eyes flew suddenly to a red headed guy in one of the pictures. "What do we have here?" he replied more to himself then to anyone else as he watched some more photos of Sora in her sport class and with some classmates. He could easily see that there were two guys that were always around her. Both of them had reddish hair, one of them more red and the other more brown.

He turned his eyes from the computer to the office were a very busy Koushiro worked over his computer.

Sora walked under the rain for several hours, allowing it to soak her to her bones. She stopped at a bench and sat there just staring at no place in particular. She could feel the drops falling to her face, but more than raindrops she could feel her own tears running down her face as well.

_Why? Why do I have to think about it every single day of me life? _the question was an old one, but the answer was hid inside her, too deep for her to find.

Suddenly the rain stopped or so she thought since there were no more raindrops falling down on her. But as she looked in front of her, she could see the rain still dropping. She looked to her side and saw Daisuke sitting there with an umbrella over both their heads. He smiled as he pushed her head into his shoulders.

Sora felt his warm embrace and accepted it. He was really the only men she could still trust. She allowed herself to cry on his shoulder as he wrapped her in a friendly hug.

* * *

_Someone (sorry but I'm bad with names) asked why I deleted the story and now posted again. I'm editing the story, hopefully it has less mistakes now. I had to give up on the reviews I had, but we can only have one thing at a time, right?_

_Then, I think the same person asked why I updated 4 chapters at once. That was because I knew I wouldn't be able to update during most of the week so I put some more chapters._

_Anyways, here is the chapter, hope you've like it and thanks for reviewing._

_Sayonara minna._


	6. Chapter 6

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Sixth Chapter

Taichi continued navigating through the information his sister had given him. He read the same article that she had read. Millions of questions crossed his mind about that girl's mysterious past. In fact, Sora's past seemed to be causing everyone a lot of confusion. Not confusion in the meaning of troubles but a reflective confusion.

Mimi sat on her office desk staring at Yamato's eyes as she told him about Sora. She knew she couldn't tell that to anyone but Yamato had the right to know being her partner and friend, though for Sora she had only two friends in the whole world. Not that she thought Sora wouldn't think of Yamato as a friend but she thought of him more like a partner, not a person in who she would rely her memories.

By his turn, Koushiro was still busy around the disk Sora had asked him to make. He really would do almost anything for his friend. He opened his desk drawn and picked a frame from within it. He sat back on his chair and stared at the picture for a while. A group of twelve years old kids smiled to the person that was taking the picture. He was the boy with orange shirt and brown shorts. Then there was a boy with soccer equipment with spiky hair that grinned mischievously as he put his hand around a girl's shoulders. She stood between the both of them and had her arms around both boys' shoulders. She too smiled.

Koushiro shook his head as the memories from that day seemed to come easily for him. That could have been one of the last true smiles he had seen on Sora's face. For moments he wondered how the trio had got distant from each other and Sora was the only thing that connected him with Daisuke. Koushiro had always been kind of jealous from Sora and Daisuke friendship. He had grown accustomed to their secrets especially after Sora turned fourteen years old.

Anyway he was still close to Sora on his own way, and he cared for her as a good friend. But Daisuke, he was more than a friend. Daisuke was like a brother to Sora. Koushiro eventually acknowledge that and somehow got over his jealousy, and now, he really wished they hadn't got separate. He wondered where Daisuke would be now. How he had developed after he and Sora had entered the police academy. He could still remember Daisuke's dream of being a soccer star.

His thoughts were interrupted as someone knocked on the door. He looked over the picture and saw Taichi standing at the door. He raised an eyebrow as he thought of a motive for the brown haired cop being _visiting_ him. He put the frame back in his drawer and motioned Taichi to enter.

Taichi stepped into Koushiro's separated office. He looked over his surroundings to see piles of computer stuff and electronic gadgets. Koushiro eyed him. "Need help with anything?" he asked as Taichi took a sit in front of him. Taichi grinned as he looked to the red headed boy. Only then Koushiro noticed a piece of paper in Taichi's hands.

"I came here to ask you some questions." Taichi said in a serious but still playful way. Koushiro eyed him in curiosity but still admitted confusion. "I'm an open box." He replied grinning as he took a more comfortable position in his chair.

Taichi placed the piece of paper he had on his hands over the desk so Koushiro could see it. Koushiro watched his movements confused, as Taichi slowly opened the piece of paper to show a very large black and white photo. In it there were several graduated students holding their diplomas. He immediately froze as he noticed the year and then the faces of some familiar people.

The brown haired watched his reaction. Koushiro leaned on his chair and looked to Taichi in his eyes. "A picture." He stated. "So…!" he asked, not wanting to show that he knew where the issue was heading. Taichi smirked as he watched Koushiro's eyes trembling and looking away from the pictures.

"Don't you recognize the people in this photo?" Taichi said, knowing fully well that Koushiro was seeing perfectly what he wanted. Koushiro looked at him and sighed. "You said you had some questions." He replied. Taichi leaned against his chair too. "Okay, you're right." He gave up. "I'll go directly to the question. How long do you know Sora? And more than that, what can you tell me about her past?"

Koushiro sadly looked into the ceiling. He knew someday someone would find out about his connection with Sora. In fact, he was astonished how Yamato hadn't discovered that sooner, but still he needed some credit since he was too busy with his romance with the psychologist of the department to notice how often Sora and he talked. He took a deep breath as to start telling the story of his life.

Sora lied still on Daisuke's arms. She had fallen asleep on his lap as he caressed her hair, but he hadn't the courage to awake her. At least the rain had stopped and now he was simply staring at the grey clouds that travelled at wind speed through the skies. He watched as Sora breathed in and out softly and calmly as he thought he would never see her doing again.

He allowed his hand to caress her cheek putting a loose strike of her honey hair behind her ear. She slept so peacefully that he dared to think of her as an angel quietly sleeping in his arms. He sighed acknowledging that fallen angel had such a painful life story. He thought of her as a sister, a loved sister that he had never had the chance to meet.

He had had a sister, Jun, but she died when he was still too little in a car accident. He still remembered the first day he had met Sora, and he prayed he would forget the first time he saw her crying. He regretted the day she had come to him and stayed like that in his arms for the first time. The first time he had knowledge of how her real life was.

----Flashback----

Daisuke stared at his classmates. He smirked as he rolled the ball on his feet. He passed one then two and easily three defences as he ran unstoppable to the goal. He could hear the girls screaming his name and the boys yelling encouragement words as he approached the goal. He stopped and smirked to the goal keeper as he saw his arms trembling as he tried not to jerk from the goal. But in the moment he shot the ball, he had no longer an opponent as the goal keeper had already made his way out of Daisuke's shooting line.

The crown went mad and some girls surrounded him screaming his name like he was dying or something. It was in that moment; at the end of that friendly game he saw her running pass the camp. He couldn't figure why she was running, but it wasn't like Sora at all running like hell as she was in that moment. He made his way off the circle of fans and ran after her.

"Sora!" he called as he tried desperately to reach her. But though she was a girl she could run like the wind when she wanted to. It was like there was nothing else besides running to her, and he could clearly see that her path wasn't being controlled. She just resumed to continue running, without a direction, without a destination, just running, like she was trying to escape something or someone.

He took his speed to the limit in a last effort to catch her and managed to grab her arm. He could hardly forget her face as he turned her to face him. Her eyes were redder than he could ever think possible, but that wasn't the scarier thing in her. He could see her lip bleeding. Her neck had finger marks around it and only as he let go her arm he noticed the bruises over her pale skin. He backed up with a surprised, less to say, look.

But Sora remained there. There were no more tears she could shed. She threw herself in his arms. She just wanted to feel safe and in his brotherly embrace she could feel just that. Safe.

It took Daisuke a time to establish from the shock he had had. They sat in a nearby bench. It was there when Daisuke could finally articulate his first word. "Are you okay?" in response he only obtained a small nod. He wanted to know what had happened to his most estimated girl friend, but the words didn't seem to come out right.

Eventually Sora too, regained her composure. She stared at him. She wondered if she should or shouldn't tell him, but the pain was just too much to handle alone. She needed someone by her side, someone she knew she could trust, and in that moment she couldn't trust more in anyone than in Daisuke.

The boy's face went from wide shock to pure hatred in seconds as Sora told him about her last few years. Daisuke clenched his fists together.

----End Of Flashback----

Daisuke clenched his fists together as the memories came. "How could someone pass through so much in such a few time?" he murmured. Once again he looked into her face. He knew she had nightmares, not only about those days but also about that special day. The day she thought she was being loved only to be fooled. But now, as he looked at her, in his lap, he saw how peacefully she slept. His fallen angel. His sister. His fighter.

Taichi stared at Koushiro right into his eyes. After all, the eyes are the mirror to the soul and Taichi knew, without any kind of doubt, Koushiro was telling the truth, the complete truth and nothing besides the truth. After hearing such a life story he could hardly consider his life a living hell when his mother perished.

Koushiro too had had a rough past and that was something that Taichi wasn't quite expecting, but about Sora there weren't many news. Now he knew she had a friend in which she relied more than anyone. But still he didn't know were to find this partner. Though some door to Sora's past were open now, he still couldn't figure the entire story, but he swore to himself he would somehow managed to discover.

He left Koushiro there alone still sitting in a comfortable position on his chair, but not with the same smile. It was painful for him remember how his life had changed in such few years. Taichi went to his desk and sat on the chair. He sighed. _So many questions._ he thought. He scratched the back of his head and yawned. He was really getting tired. He looked over to the computer then decided to go rest a little.

He redrew the disk from the computer and picked his raincoat. Then he exited the building not looking once behind. He was just too tired. He drove his dark blue Subaru to his apartment. The rain had started to drop again and quickly filled his windshield with little raindrops.

He looked around as he entered his apartment. There was a strange smell on the air, almost like food. He hanged his coat on a nearby chair and started looking around. There was definitely something wrong as he acknowledge the smell getting stronger as he got near the kitchen.

He peeked in and saw the lights on but the door was closed. He took a deep breath and picked his gun from his belt. Holding it close to his face with both hands he tiptoed leaned against the wall to the door. Then, taking another deep breath, he pushed the door open and pointed the gun.

Inside the kitchen a long black haired with spectacular blue eyes was cooking lunch. Taichi just stood there completely in shock, not knowing what to say or what to do. Megumi, though, kept quietly cooking like it was the more normal thing to be doing there. She picked the pan in which she was frying some eggs and put it back on the cold counter, making some smock fly up to the ceiling.

After a few seconds of silence, which seemed like decades to Taichi, he finally put the gun back on its original place and managed to articulate a word. "What are you doing here?" he asked. The girl did not remove her attention from the pan. She mixed the eggs with other stuff like she was doing omelettes or something like it. "I had your house keys still." She said. Taichi sighed.

He watched her. He still remembered her slim waist and how many times he had grabbed her and spin her around like a child, but she loved that. He still smelled her vanilla hair but he still hadn't forgotten that night. He watched her as she put over the table the food were two plates were already set along with a couple of candles. The lights in the dinning room were off, so there was only the light that came from the two lighten candles.

"I asked you what you were doing here?" he asked coldly, still in the same spot he was when he got there. She looked at him for the first time in the whole encounter. He got lost in her eyes, but now there was something different happening too, because he no longer had the guts to kiss her as he looked into her eyes like he always did. Now there were other eyes in his mind. He was glad for that, but Megumi was still there.

He felt her approach him quietly like cat spying the next move of his victim. She placed her hands behind his neck. Taichi felt her breath on his face. He tried to remain calm but her charm was taking over him. He took her hands off. "Get out!" he said in a murmur. There was no rage or anger in his voice, only a simple beg for her to live. But Megumi wasn't willing to give up on him so easily.

"I just wanted to make peace with you again." She said as she approached him. Taichi stepped back at the same time that she stepped forward. Her voice was seductive and her clothes attracted any men, but Taichi wasn't going to fall in her tricks again. He pushed her off of him. "Get out, Megumi or I'll put you out myself." He said.

Megumi stared at him madly, but he wasn't looking for her. She approached him and tried to slap him but she couldn't because he grabbed her hand. She started sobbing to herself. "I just wanted to come back to you." She sobbed as she stepped back. Taichi turned his back on her. He couldn't stand seeing a woman cry, much lesser if he was the reason she was crying. His mother had always told him, a man is no worth if he makes a woman cry.

"You were the one that betrayed me right under my nose." He replied not facing her still. He could feel her walking around now. She walked from one way to the other. "But I regretted my actions and I came back to you." Megumi tried, but still Taichi remained stone hearted not facing her. She put her hands around his back embracing him. "I love you Taichi, just you." She said as she kissed his neck.

Taichi closed his eyes feeling her lips on his bare neck. That was the last drop, he knew somehow she would always fool him and he couldn't trust her anymore again. He turned around, her arms still around him. She looked into his chocolate brown eyes, thinking she had managed what she wanted. She approached his lips and tried to kiss him, but Taichi pulled away. "**Stop Megumi**." He shouted in an angry voice that he had tried to keep to himself.

She stared at him for a while. "I need you." She begged. "Yeah, maybe you do, but I don't need you. You hurt me Megumi, deeply." He said, tears filling his eyes. The girl simply stared at him. "I can't trust you anymore and I don't want to either." He paused for a few seconds. He slowly walked to the door and opened it. "Please, leave." He asked. Megumi eyed him. She could almost feel his arms around her, but not anymore. "**You have another girl, haven't you?**" she stated very angry. "**Well, that's fine, I don't need you either**." And with this last statement she picked her wallet and walked off.

Taichi stood there looking to the open door. It took him a minute to understand what had happened as he closed the door and went to his room. The sleep was getting over him. He couldn't and he didn't want to think about anything anymore. He took off his shirt and pants, putting his gun over his night table and fell to his bed.

Sora slowly opened her eyes as the light entered the space were she was. She looked around not recognizing the place from anywhere. Then she glanced over to the door. A guy was standing there. "I thought you were asleep." He smiled. Sora immediately recognized his voice. "I was, but it's about time I wake up, don't you think?" she replied as she stood up and walked over to him. She put her arms around him.

"Thanks Daisuke, bro." she replied. The spiky haired simply smiled. "Want some lunch?" he asked. She pulled away and looked over to him. "What would I do without you?" she smiled and followed him to the kitchen.

Daisuke's house was a very small one. His bedroom, the one Sora had awake in was very small with only space to the bed and a closet. The hall was small as well, having almost every door close to each other. The kitchen was a small room with a small squared table in a corner with two chairs. Then it had a counter with a lavatory glued to the stove. Underneath it was a clothes washing machine and drawers and closets. Against the wall was a mini fridge.

She sat on one of the chairs as she waited for Daisuke to come join her. He prepared them two hamburgers with bread and put it over a couple of plates that he placed in the table. Then he picked a bottle of water and placed it too on the table along with two cups.

Sora glanced over to the water bottle and stood up. Daisuke, though, grabbed her hand before she could go any further. She looked to him and he shook his head. She sighed defeated, knowing Daisuke would never let her have any alcohol inside his house. She sat back on the chair and picked her hamburger. She watched the rain that had started falling again outside.

Daisuke watched Sora as he ate his hamburger. She just stared outside not really eating anything. She was still thinking about all that had happened. Why did those things happened to her? First Taichi and then Mimi and probably Yamato next since he and her shrink were _so close_. She had seen him when she ran off the office, but she preferred he thought she hadn't. It was for the best.

She still couldn't figure out her feelings towards Taichi either. In a way she adored his courage. He had been the only one that had found where she lived and had actually came there, but she thought as well he had a lot of nerves to just appear there. She had promised herself after that she would never love again, never again, but could she still keep that promise?

"I know that look of yours." Daisuke interrupted her thoughts. Sora turned her attention to him. Could it be possible that she was falling in love with Yagami, Taichi? "C'mon, tell me what's going on in your head, Sor." He asked. She sighed but remained in silence. Instead she started eating. Daisuke acknowledged by this time, she wasn't going to tell him what was bothering her, so he decided to change the subject.

"How is your undercover job going?" he asked taking a sip of his water. Sora smiled mischievously. "Great." She paused as she too took a sip of her water. "I still didn't thank you for yesterday." "Hey, it's no problem. What are friends for?" he smiled. "So what is it this time? Drug dealers, illegal immigrants, prostitution…?"

Sora took a comfortable position in her chair as she prepared to talk. Daisuke eyed her suspicious. "Well, I might say is a little of them all, but let's not talk about me. I haven't seen you in a while. How are things going?" she asked with a truly concerned voice. Daisuke stared at the ceiling and then to her crimson eyes again. Sora could see sorrow in them.

"Don't worry. You'll manage it one day. They just didn't acknowledge your talent." She replied walking towards him and keeping him in her arms. Daisuke allowed some lost tears roll down his face. Sora wiped them silently with a smile. "Hey, men don't cry." She said playfully. Daisuke smiled too, but it soon faded.

"It's just that…I really thought my dream would…you know, accomplish someday. But it's just seems like I'm getting farther away from it. At least you and Koushiro had your dreams come true, but I… I still work in a cafeteria." He said, crying softly in her arms now. "I feel like I'm a looser."

----Flashback----

"Hey, Sora. Come play with me." A fifteen years old Daisuke asked his friend. Sora looked over to her other friend, Koushiro that was sitting against a tree with a criminal's psychology book. "Koushiro!" she called him as she ran towards the red headed boy.

He raised his head for a few seconds to see his two friends walking towards him. He closed the book he was reading. It was a beautiful spring day and the three friends were over at the park playing. Koushiro had for the first time in a long time accepted to play soccer with Daisuke and Sora, so it was Sora against Daisuke.

They ran through the empty field with the ball at their feet. Koushiro was the goal keeper for both of them. It was a one on one for Sora and Daisuke. They stood front to front. Sora had the ball and they were tied, so this was the decisive play. She glared at him. He grinned. Then without notice she started running down the field.

"Shit!" Daisuke murmured as he ran after her. He got the ball from her and ran in the opposite side. "It's all yours Koushiro." Sora yelled from the other side of the field. Koushiro saw Daisuke approaching in strength with a grin on his face. He prepared himself for the shot, but Daisuke stopped. He wasn't expecting that. Then the shot came and all that Koushiro managed to do was follow the trajectory of the ball with his eyes.

Daisuke ran around the field chanting victory. He ran around Sora to make her mad, but she didn't. "Let's take a pause, I'm tired." She replied as she walked pass him and towards the tree. She sat under it along with Koushiro. Daisuke soon followed.

Sora took from her backpack three water bottles and handed them over to her guy friends. "You know, I was kind of thinking. What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked without notice. Daisuke looked at her surprised by the thought that Sora might actually think about her future. Koushiro simply picked up the book again, showing the title to them.

"I want to be a cop." He replied. Sora put on a thinking smile. "Yeah, me too, a detective or something like that. Must be pretty cool." She replied. Koushiro simply smiled. "What about you Dai?" he asked. Daisuke smiled with an enthusiastic and dreamy face. "I want to be a football player. A famous one."

----End Of Flashback----

Sora embraced Daisuke as she remembered that day so clearly. That had been the day all of them had chosen their paths. But Daisuke wasn't right. He wasn't the only one who hadn't accomplished his goal. She too felt like something was missing. Like a part of her was vanishing in the air, but she couldn't quite figure why, since for her, all her dreams had come true.

Hikari stood from the desk were she was working without any stop since early morning. She definitely couldn't take that anymore. She went to her room and dressed herself. Then put on her backpack were she always carried a camera and walked off the house.

"I'll go just for a little walk." She replied to herself trying not to get guilty for escaping to her work like that. She walked to the park were she took some pictures and then she continued walking. Suddenly from a store she saw a familiar face. It was Sora. "But what is she doing here with that guy?" she thought to herself.

She started following them and taking pictures as they walked through the streets. Sora turned sometimes to see if anyone was following her. She could feel someone's gaze in her as she was being spied or something, but she continued walking. Hikari found that was difficult to follow a so well trained cop. She could almost swear she had eyes on her back.

Daisuke and Sora kissed goodbye next to the cafeteria where Daisuke worked. He entered but Sora continued down the street. It was getting to five in the afternoon, but that didn't matter anymore. What mattered was finding out where the girl was going. But suddenly, as she turned a corner she stopped seeing her. Nevertheless she kept walking down the street.

Suddenly from nowhere a hand covered her mouth and pushed her against the wall. For at least five seconds she was terrified, until she saw two reddish eyes watching her furiously. "**You!"** Sora shouted as she pushed the girl against the wall. "What are you doing?" she shouted in a murmur.

Hikari tried to talk, but that was kind of difficult since Sora's hand was over her mouth. "Can't you leave me alone?" Sora said and retrieved her hand from Hikari's mouth. "Thanks." The younger replied. Sora glared at her and noticed the machine. "**I can't believe you.**" She shouted again. "You don't have the right to follow people picturing their lives like that." She said and took the camera from Hikari.

"No, please. I have more than your photos in it." She pleaded as Sora prepared to take the film. Sora sighed. "Okay, but stop following me. Follow your brother instead. My life can be really messy and agitated." She replied. Hikari glared at her at the mention of her brother. "It's for your own safety." The eldest replied.

Hikari continued to glare at her. _I really can't understand this girl. I could almost swear, I saw a hint of warmness in her voice as she mentioned my brother_. Hikari thought to herself. _But what does she means with messy and agitated life? She's up to something._

Sora watched the girl before her. She had brown eyes and brown hair just like her brother though her hair was thickest then Taichi and felt softly to her shoulders. The image of the guy appeared in her head and for a second she wished he was with her. "Get a grip on yourself." She replied to herself not really noticing Hikari stares.

"Well, don't come following me again, okay?" She asked to Hikari. The other simply nodded with a smirk.

Sora walked off the alley where she had trapped the photographer and headed to the police department. She took a glare at her watch. Almost six. She had to be quick if she wanted to get some information today still. She walked faster.

Koushiro sat at his desk. It seemed like it was the only thing he knew to do. In fact there were rumours that he even slept in his officer. But this time he was just waiting for one person to arrive and then he would go home for a worthy rest.

He watched the rest of the cops walking from one place to another. Then a blond cop got his attention. It was Yamato and he seemed very sleepy but truly very happy as he walked with his jacket over his shoulder. Koushiro couldn't help but laugh as he watched him with a lunatic air exiting the department. He still had lipstick on his face, but it wasn't new for anyone about his relationship with Mimi.

For a second he considered the possibility of going to say hi to Mimi. She sure should have the same lunatic air. He smiled at the possibility. He yawned and looked over to his watch. Almost six. Yamato was going home but in less than three hours he would have to come again for the watch.

He followed the steps of the people inside the building to the exit door. His eyes slowly started closing as they seemed to become heavier and heavier. His head fell to his desk and he started sleeping right there.

About seven hours, he was awake by a voice that called his name. "Koushiro… Wake up." Sora said as she shook her sleepy friend over the desk. He raised his head and watched the girl.

"Hey, Sora, I was waiting for you." He said as he tried to open his eyes. He quickly searched for the disk he had been preparing all afternoon for her. "Here." He said handing it over to her, after searching through the mess over his desk and also through his drawers. "This will do what you asked me, I think." He added unsurely.

"No worries. I trust you." She replied as she picked the disk and put it on her backpack. "Shouldn't you go home to rest?" she asked him as he fell asleep over his desk again. "Yeah, I should." He replied and got up.

As both of them walked out of the building Koushiro decided to remember Sora of her promise. "Don't forget what you promised me. If you're in danger call me or Yama or Taichi. We will get there to help you. Are you sure they have no suspicious of who you are?" he said.

Sora glared at him for a while, but then replied. "Sure, don't worry."


	7. Chapter 7

**Fighter**

**By**

**Marie Darkholme**

Seventh Chapter

The crimson eyed sat at her computer. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the keyboard as she pushed the keys and the click of the mouse. She glanced over to her watch. Almost two in the morning. She continued searching through the document. Her eyes were visibly tired as she kept glued to the screen. She pushed the keys as faster as she could in anxiety.

"Crap!" she took the disk and slammed it against the nearest wall. "Shit. Six fucking weeks and still nothing." She shouted into nowhere. She turned off the computer and rubbed her eyes trying to keep them from burning. She was in the edge of crying, not for the failure that her plan was being but for how tired she was.

She had come back to action three weeks ago, but still, she kept her investigation with Hiroshi. She was a double person. At night her name was Sato, Katsumi and she walked in the suburbs with the gangs of Kyoto while in the day she was Takenouchi, Sora and patrolled the streets alone.

Yamato and Taichi still had the night watch and because she needed to be available at night, she asked to be on the daily watch. It really was different to be patrolling at night; the action was all there, but at the time being she had no choice. She patrolled alone because, due to her fame, no guy wanted to work with her. Koushiro had volunteered himself to help her, but Jyou preferred that she was alone. He said he needed Koushiro in the department.

Because of assuming her double identity she was now tired then ever. She hadn't any time to sleep at all and the holes under her eyes were growing. Fortunately with a little makeup, no one could say she could barely keep her eyes open, and she really couldn't afford to let the crooks find out about her double life, or better like, her spy life.

She leaned against the chair and yawned. She needed to sleep but she just couldn't. The nightmares were getting worse by the day, as Taichi and Yamato kept pressing her to go and talk with Mimi. And now even Jyou seemed to be pressing her again. And if that wasn't the worse part of it, she had now a chaser. Hikari continuously kept following her. Fortunately she always managed to escape from her, but it was getting harder everyday and the damned reporter was as stubborn as her damned brother.

Her brother. Sora still couldn't stop thinking about him. There was just something in his eyes that was different from most of the men. She could see he was different but how he was different she didn't want to found out. She remained closed to him, ignoring his attempts to get close to her or even make friendship. She just wanted him to be as for from her as possible.

She searched for the disk in the floor and piled it along with the others she had already. "Crap!" she said as she saw how many disks she had. She could almost make a movie of all the bank transfer, schedule and other stuffs of Hiroshi, but that wasn't what she wanted. Of course, being a drug dealer, and washing money was a crime, but he would easily get out with a bail and some bribe. She wanted to catch him for murder, kidnapping, and weapon's traffic, something that could really get him in jail for life.

She allowed herself to fall into the couch, completely driven by her fatigue. And it didn't take her long to fall asleep. It was a cold night outside and the wind whispered violently, shaking the trees.

Taichi and Yamato put their jackets more close to them as they entered a small building. There were graffiti everywhere and though they weren't even half their way to where they had been called they could already hear the screams. It was a typical case of attempt of robbery due to drugs.

They quickened their pace as they climbed the stairs that led to the fourth floor. The screams got louder and louder. They were clearly from a woman. But they could also hear the cries of an apparently very disturbed teen. They stepped quickly into the house with their guns on their hands.

"This is the Kyoto police." Taichi shouted. "Come out with your hands in the air." There were several sounds but none of them could be understood. Taichi motioned Yamato to stay and he stepped in with his gun down. "We're here to help." He said quietly as he tried to get close to the aggressor. The victim was a young woman about twenty, twenty one with black curly hair and brown eyes. She had minor injuries in her leg that was bleeding but she was able to walk.

The aggressor was a man about eighteen years old. He was in possession of a gun and was under the clear effects of drugs. He pointed the gun to Taichi. "Who are you? Get out of my house!" the boy shouted still holding the gun to Taichi. He tried to approach but the boy shot into the air as sign he wasn't joking, so he backed off again. Meanwhile the girl had managed to stand up and was now leaning against the door to a room.

Taichi looked behind him to get a look at Yamato's position that was behind him at his left side. He motioned him with hands signs against his back. "What's your name?" Taichi asked the boy. He turned his attention to Taichi again and approached still with his gun on his hand. "What do you care what my name is?" the boy shouted.

Unfortunately for him, he had got too close and Taichi quickly grabbed his arm. The boy shot the gun, but Taichi had already got out of the way. He twisted the boy's arm around his back so he would drop the gun and so he did. Yamato picked the gun and handed Taichi the handcuffs with which Taichi handcuffed the boy. Yamato walked over to the girl.

"Are you okay?" he asked, but before he could say anything else the girl jumped to his arms and started kissing him on his cheek. "Oh, thank you, thank you…I'm so grateful for your help." She replied. Yamato got rid of the girl and Taichi started laughing as he took the boy down with him. He locked him up in the back sit of the patrol car and drove back to the police station as Yamato entered after getting rid of the girl into an ambulance.

Sora turned on the couch to one side and then to the other. The screams in her head were getting louder and louder as she approached the door of her old room. She was sweating. Suddenly her hands started burning and she noticed she was bleeding. Then the phone rang awaking her from another nightmare. She turned and picked the phone.

"Hello!" she mumbled into the receiver. "Hey Sora. It's Koushiro." Koushiro replied from the other side of the line. "Did you found out something?" she asked him. He nodded and then replied yes to her, remembered he was talking on the phone. "Yeah and it might be big." He said as he took a more comfortable position in his seat. "Remember that guy you saw with him last week?" he continued. Sora mumbled. "Well, I checked his information and I discovered that our boy might be after a bigger stunt than just drugs, because the guy I just spoke with said that the man with Hiroshi was a Honk Kong terrorist. I have more information, but I would prefer to tell in first person." He replied.

Sora sat back on the couch. She glared at her watch. She had barely slept more than two hours, but two hours was all her brain needed even though her body asked for more. "Yeah, I understand. I'll be right there." She replied with a yawn. "Wait Sora. You can still sleep for a few more hours. This information ain't going anywhere." Koushiro said as he heard his friend's tired voice.

"No, no, don't worry. I'll be there in a half hour. Let me just take a bath." She said. Koushiro was preparing to say something more but his words were cut in the middle as he heard the dial sound on the line. He hanged down the phone and put his elbows over his desk. He too was tired, but Sora was taking more chances than him by doing that. He just couldn't let her get hurt. He had promised it.

----Flashback----

Koushiro sighed as he stood outside a cafeteria, or more like a bar, but it didn't matter because he wasn't there to take a drink. He took his hands off of his pockets. He was wearing a pair of brown pants with a plover and a coat over it. A short reddish coat.

He entered the bar and sat at the counter. It didn't take him long to recognize his old friend, Daisuke serving at one of the tables where early customers asked for early drinks. Daisuke saw him too. He got behind the counter and went to talk with a short old man that was serving some drinks. The old man smiled and Daisuke took off his working outfit that consisted in an apron, a black waist apron with the logotype of the bar in the right bottom corner of it.

He walked over to Koushiro and greeted him with a male handshake, and then they both headed outside.

"You know…" Daisuke started as they walked through the park. "… we haven't talked for a while, but you're still one of my buddies." He replied hitting Koushiro playfully in the back. "I just… never had the guts to go talk to you after you left our house, you know? I'm really sorry for that, Koushiro." Daisuke continued. Koushiro stopped as he looked astonished to his friend. He had never though in his entire life that Daisuke might someday apologize to him.

"That's the pass now, man." He said as he too hit him on his back. "I think I … I was just childish." Daisuke looked over to his friend. He had completely forgotten how understandable Koushiro could be. He smiled at him. "Well, I'm glad that's all set up then… I'm just sorry we had to get to this situation." Daisuke replied lowering his head as he thought how ridiculous he had been about the apologise thing.

"Me too. So friends?" Koushiro said. Daisuke stopped and looked at him. "Yeah, sure." The two men shook their hands and started laughing. In less then two minutes, the tension that had been built between the two since almost three years disappeared. Right now, they were just two long time friends that hadn't seen each other for the longest time.

Eventually the chat led to their common friend, Takenouchi, Sora, the girl that was tougher than a thunder, colder than ice and stone hearted. At least apparently because both of them knew the other Sora. The one that loved her two friends more than her life. The one who was comprehensive and loving. The one who had a heart full of love that she wanted to share.

"That's the reason why I called you here today." Daisuke said as they sat under a tree in the park. Though the grass was wet, none of them seemed to mind about it as they sat there. "I…I know you and her… I mean, she doesn't…" Daisuke started, tension rising in him again. Koushiro smiled as he saw his friend embarrassed. "You can say it, she doesn't trust me her deeper secrets. She trusts you more, I know." He replied.

Daisuke nodded feeling a little guilty about that, but Koushiro simply shove it away. "No, it's the truth. And I can understand the reason." "You can!" Daisuke surprised said. "Yeah, I mean. She only got to know me when we were in school and she has known you for her entire life. Of course she would trust you more." He said.

Both their gazes were turned to the skies with the thought about a distant past. "Sure, we were a trio, and we had a good friendship but in all bad times she would always ran to you. Figures, I still don't know what happened to her hands, but I'm not stupid and I know her father hit her, and I know something happened with that boyfriend she had." He said. Daisuke could almost feel the sorrow in his words and he couldn't help but to feel guilty.

"But don't worry; I don't blame you or her. I mean, she always trusts in me, she just doesn't feel comfortable telling me those kinds of things. Besides I can be by her side and like I said, we have a friendship she hasn't with anyone else besides you, so I'm happy with that." He finished and he looked to Daisuke.

"I'm sorry man." Daisuke said placing a hand on his shoulder. "So what was this call about?" Koushiro changed the subject. "Oh! Well about that. I need you to watch Sora more closely and be there for her anytime she needs. Don't wait for her to come to you, because she won't, go to her. Please you have to promise me, you won't let her get hurt." Daisuke pleaded. Koushiro eyed him surprised by his reply.

"Yeah, I mean I promise but why are you saying this now?" he asked confused. Daisuke stared at the clouds. "I've finally be gave wings to fly." He replied half dreaming. Koushiro remembered that look of him. He remembered it from a spring day under a tree after a soccer match between them and Sora. "You mean…?" he asked. Daisuke gave him the affirmative sign.

"That's great man. You're finally going to accomplish your dream." He smiled happily, but his smiled faded suddenly as he realised the dark compensation of Daisuke's accomplishment. "Have you told Sora?" Daisuke shook his head. "No, I know she'll be happy for me, but I know she's going to need someone for her now, and I kind of feel guilty that I can't be here. But…you understand me don't you?" Daisuke looked at Koushiro hope filling his pleading eyes.

"Yeah, I understand. After all it is your dream. When do you leave?" he asked. "Next week." The answer seemed to be hanged in the silence that felt between the two of them in the next few minutes. But though the silence wasn't a bad and suffocating silence it hurt them, as they knew it would hurt Sora when she knew.

But as always she put up her façade and pretended everything was okay. It was completely obvious how happy she was that Daisuke finally was accomplishing his dream, but it hurt her to see him leave to the United States. Koushiro could see it through her eyes.

----End Of Flashback----

In fact there were now a lot of things he could see just by looking at her eyes. It was like somehow the ability Daisuke had to read them two between the lines had passed to him and he could understand Sora's feelings even when she didn't. And the most immediate fact was that she was helplessly in love.

Taichi walked in the police station with the young delinquent in his hands. The boy had eventually calmed down and wasn't trying to resist him as he was in the beginning. Taichi looked at him with a mix of pity and anger. He wondered what kind of things did that boy went through that made him chose drugs as the way out.

He handed over the boy to another cop that started filling a formulary with him, while Taichi and Yamato went to fill their own documents. They looked to the hours. They would eventually have to leave again since there were still a few hours to the end of their shift.

Taichi sat over his desk with a cup of coffee in his hands when suddenly he saw a brown haired girl appearing in the police station. He immediately recognized Sora and went after her but too late since she locked herself in Koushiro's office with him. They closed the windows so no one could peek on what they were doing, and this got Taichi a little annoyed.

He picked a chair that was nearby and sat at the door. He was determined to talk to her again. They had had many talks lately, based on Sora sending Taichi for a walk and to leave her alone, but still, he wasn't a man to give up on what he wanted so easily and so he kept trying.

Sora yawned as she entered Koushiro's. He watched her concerned. "Are you getting enough sleep?" he asked, but before she could even reply he kept going. "You know, you become a danger even to yourself if you don't get enough sleep. Imagine you go meet …" "Easy Koushiro, easy. I can take care of myself." She said and smiled her perfect smile that no one besides her two friends knew.

"So what do you have for me?" she said as she went to his side to peek into the computer. "Remember Kenshi Yamamoto?" Koushiro asked her as a picture of the so called assassin appeared in the screen. Sora gasped. "No, I can't believe I was this closest to that guy and couldn't arrest him." She replied. "Yeah, too bad, but there's more. I think this time we're no talking about a drug business, cause this guy in here…" Koushiro continued as another image popped into the computer. "…is no drug dealer. He is a terrorist in Honk Kong and the secret police is searching for him. I think our mutual friend Hiroshi is up to major business in weapon's traffic. And that's why he needs an expert person as Kenshi and yourself as well."

Sora shook her head still not believing she had been so close to the guy and still hadn't the minus chance of getting him. She sat back in the chair in front of Koushiro's desk. He watched her. That undercover work was getting too damn dangerous and she knew it, but still he knew she wouldn't stop, but without the actually protection and knowledge of the police department she could get herself in some nasty troubles.

"Look Sora, I think that it might be for the best if you backed up now. We spread the new that you're arrested or something and…" Koushiro started but she shook her head. "No way, that would completely be out of question. Now more than ever I must continue." She said as stubborn as ever.

Koushiro didn't found more arguments against it. "Sora, please be careful. You own me that and to Daisuke as well." He replied. Sora gave him a reassurance smile, that didn't reassure him of nothing except how stubborn she could be and left the room.

Outside Taichi immediately grabbed her and pulled her with him. He opened the door of one of the offices, or at least he thought so, but they accidentally ended up in a closet were the cleaning material was. Sora was about to protest but Taichi put a hand over her mouth. She tried to punch him in the stomach but too late because he was already too close to her.

He pressed her body against the wall with his. "Promise you won't yell?" he asked her. She simply nodded, thinking how stupid he could really be to believe her. "Okay, I'll let you go, but first I need to talk to you." He said. Sora thought for a while. _Talk! Doesn't this guy ever give up?_

Taichi stared at her in her eyes and slowly let his hand slip from her mouth. "What is your idea?" she asked half whispering, half yelling. "You just didn't give me another option. Every time I try to talk to you, you simply run away." "Who said I was running?" she said avoiding his gaze.

"Oh, c'mon Sora. You're always running from something. By the way, why don't you take off your gloves? What do you have to hide?" he replied. Sora glared at him, but she simply couldn't put up a convinced annoyed face as she melted every time she looked into his eyes. _I can't believe you Sora. You can't fall for him_. she demanded herself.

"See, you're always running from something." He said as he tried not to get carried away by the moment and the position in which they were. He didn't want to get caught in her eyes like last time and make that sudden move again, but he found that extremely hard as all he wanted was to kiss her and who knows what else.

"Look, I wanted to apologize for that day, you see." He blushed intensely. Sora immediately knew what he was talking about and blushed too, but Taichi didn't saw that as he had looked to the other side. "Hmm, it's okay…now, I **really** would like to spend more time **with you in the closet **but I have things to do." She replied as she prepared herself to leave, but he managed to grab her again.

Sora sighed. "Please Sora. I don't know what happened when you were younger but I promise you I won't be like that. Give me a chance." Taichi said. She could see the pleading in his eyes and her heart really wanted to give him the chance, to give **her,** the chance to trust and love again, but her mind didn't, and for Sora, the mind was stronger than the heart.

"Taichi…just… forget about me, okay?" she whispered him as she looked away. Taichi could feel the trembling in her voice and in that moment he could feel that she loved him and she was fighting that feeling. He pulled her next to him, holding her in his arms. Sora didn't fight, she wanted to, but she didn't as he carried her into a kiss. His lips were inches from hers, but she had already entered in nightmares.

"Please **don't**… **don't touch me**…stop, please." She pleaded as her eyes filled with tears. She couldn't stand it anymore. The pain of the memories was still more than she could stand. Taichi stopped as he looked into her eyes, to see her crying. He immediately let go, regretting what he was about to do.

"Sora… are you… look I'm sorry. Please don't cry." He pleaded and wiped her tears. Sora grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. "I can't, you don't understand. You **will** hurt me sooner or later. You **will** hurt me and I don't want to be hurt again." She said and walked off, leaving Taichi in the closet.

As Sora walked down town to her neighbourhood, her cell phone rang. She picked it as she yawned. "Hello?" she asked. Her face immediately contracted as she heard the voice from the other side. She let the phone fall to the ground in shock, but she quickly regained the strength to pick it back up and dialled it off.

Then she continued walking down as nothing had ever happened.

Hikari awoke in the middle of the night. She looked besides her to see her love still asleep, and then she looked over to her watch. Almost six in the morning. She soon would have to awake. She yawned. Following Sora was definitely tiring since she always ended up losing her track. But today she wouldn't. Today she would know exactly were Sora goes dressed up like a thief or something like that with those blue eye lenses and that fake red hair.

She stared the ceiling, thinking about it. _Could Sora be working for bandits? Nah, she wouldn't do that. Maybe I should tell my brother? But then again, he would straight forbid me to follow her._ _After all, what I'm doing is illegal and I can get arrested._ She thought. She turned on her bed to try and get a little more sleep.

Suddenly she felt an arm around her body. She smiled and pretended she was asleep. Takeru kissed her neck softly as he pulled her closer to him. She could feel his cold body against hers and she shivered, but she continued to pretend she was asleep as she curled more in his arms.

"Hikari…!" Takeru called in a warm nice voice. "Are you awake?" she didn't replied, but then he smirked and started tickling her. "I know you're awake." He laughed. Hikari broke in laugh as well as he tickled her in the most sensitive zones. He knew everything about her. He knew were to touch her in the right moments, what to say in the right moments, what to do. He was her angel fallen from heaven.

"Okay, okay. I'm awake." She giggled as she turned to meet his eyes staring at her. She smiled at how beautiful they were. And they were only hers and no one else. That smile, that light was only directed to her. "Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?" she replied caressing his face. Takeru smiled.

"Every morning, but I still like to hear it, coming from such a lovely girl like my fiancée." He said. Hikari blushed as she always did when someone made her a complement. She kissed him in his lips and stood up. Takeru watched her. She had a beautiful body. She wasn't skeletal like some models, but wasn't fat either. She had all the right curves on the right places. But more than her body, he loved her personality, the way she walked, the way she dressed, even the way she combed her hair or picked her coffee in the morning. She was always so careful with all her movements that sometimes it looked like she was dancing when she moved. And as she walked she gave small steps and it was like she was floating. She was graceful as a swan.

"Where do you go every morning?" he asked. Hikari smiled. "I go after my big story, but she always manages to loose me." She replied. Takeru watched her interested. "Her? You're following someone?" Hikari blinked to him. "I'll tell you if you promise not to tell my brother, or yours either?" she said as she walked to the bed again and put her elbow on it looking straight into his eyes.

Takeru sighed. "Okay." "Well, then I'm following Takenouchi, Sora. I know almost her everyday routine." Takeru was wide eyes. "I follow her since she goes out of her apartment. First she goes jogging, then on the days she has work, that are all except Saturday and Sunday, at nine o'clock, she enters the police department and goes do her watch. At four she's replaced. Now is when it changes. Sometimes she goes directly somewhere that I still didn't find where it is, since she sees me and looses me every time." Takeru was now completely confused. Hikari sighed. "Anyway, I'm following her because when she goes there, she changes; she dresses all black and puts on a fake crimson hair. And she also wears eye lenses to change her eye colour to blue. I think she's up to something so I have been following her." She finished.

Takeru eyed her still a bit confused. "But what about the newspaper?" he replied. "Oh, don't worry, I ask them to this particular job and they accepted as long as I still managed to take care of the photos arrangement." She smiled. Takeru still wasn't much convinced. "Isn't dangerous to be following Sora? I mean she has an historical in violence against guys. Who knows, maybe she goes kick some buts."

Hikari shook her head and kissed his forehead. "Don't worry about me." She said. "I always carry my pepper spray." Hikari picked up her purse and showed him a cane of self defence. Takeru gasped. _I didn't know Hikari could be so thoughtful about that. A pepper spray? I'm surely I wouldn't want to take that. _he thought to himself.

Sora lied on her couch. She had been awake for a while, but now she had finally got to sleep. Suddenly the phone rang taking Sora from another awful nightmare. She picked it. "Yeah?" she replied still sleepy. Her six senses got all alert as she heard Hiroshi's voice from the other side. "Yeah, okay." She replied as she hung up the phone.

She dressed herself as fast as she could while she tried to call Koushiro, but unfortunately he was out at the moment and he couldn't pick up the phone, so she gave up and headed towards the spot she had agreed with Hiroshi to meet. She was suspicious about that meeting. He usually only called her at night. For her luck her watch only started in two hours so she had time to deal with him.

She entered the bar in the suburbs where the gang used to meet. It was kind of full that morning and that got Sora even more suspicious. She went to the table she was supposed to meet with Hiroshi and sat. Besides him were the other two guys that Sora recognized as Kenshi and the other guy Koushiro had told her about. Her heart started beating faster. _Could it be possible that they find my cover_? she thought.

Hiroshi eyed the woman in front of him and as always she was pretty, wearing a pair of black pants and a top along with a long black raincoat. It was starting to rain again and the sun was nowhere to be seen. She stared blankly waiting for his orders.

"Do you want to drink something, **Katsumi**?" he asked. Sora could notice his tone of voice and she saw some of the guys in the other tables preparing themselves, so she too got ready…ready to run. She knew they would kill her if they found her true identity. "No, I'm fine like this." She replied still coldly.

Hiroshi continued staring at her and stood up. He walked towards Sora and she too stood up. Then he slapped her. Sora didn't complain and simply stared at him, feeling her cheek burning. "Did you think you could fool us forever, **Takenouchi, Sora**?" he replied. "I don't know what you're talking about." She strongly interposed. The others smirked and Hiroshi threw her some papers.

Sora picked them and started reading. She could clearly see what they implied. _Shit!_ she thought. She glanced around and saw everyone preparing. Before Hiroshi could even speak again, she started running. "Catch her; _alive_." He replied, and the men started running after Sora. She picked up her guns, one in each hand and shot one of the guys.

One of them managed to turn around and appeared in front of her. He pointed his gun to her legs but Sora jumped and kicked him in the face. _Shit, shit, shit!_ She never thought Koushiro would fail her, but things happen so she decided to blame him later as she kept running. Some of the guys had opened fire, but as they couldn't kill her they were pointing at her legs which caused them not getting a sharp target.

She turned in a dark corner. The rain had started dropping heavily and the sun hadn't still come up or if it had, the black clouds in the sky didn't allow him to shine. Suddenly come from nowhere, five guys stood in front of her. She immediately shot one in his leg, but the others made her drop her guns. She jumped and kicked two of them in their faces and as she felt her feet touching the ground again, she ducked to avoid a kick from the fourth guy and rolled to pick her guns. Then she started running again with one guy still following her.

Unfortunately the other three had got up again and run after her too. She hid behind a car and shot one of them in the arm.

Meanwhile, in a nearby place, Taichi yawned as he drove the car. "Let's get going to the station. This is getting boring." He replied. Almost immediately a voice was heard. "Shooting in the area 4b." the voice said. Yamato looked at Taichi that quickly nodded. "Car 1726 in the area and attending the call. Over." He said.

Taichi drove as fast as he could to the place. When he got there he simply stopped the car and left holding his gun as did Yamato. They walked side by side, following the sound of shots. Then they started following the injured bodies in the floor. "This is car 1726, we ask for medical support and reinforcements. Over." He replied. "They're on their way, 1726. Over and out."

Hikari was nearby the place. She had finally managed to get Sora but right now, she wished she had never seen Sora in her life. The brown haired girl was hid in a dumpster holding her camera. She had filmed every scene and it almost seemed like a movie. She could see Sora hid behind a car and the bandits trying to get closer.

Taichi motioned his partner for him to go the other way so they could get the disturbers from two angles. Yamato did as he was told and went the other side. Taichi remained on his path. There were blood marks everywhere as he walked.

Sora took off her eyes lenses and aimed her gun. She looked through the car mirror and saw a man approaching. She shot him on his leg and he immediately retrieved. She counted her bullets in the chargers. The crooks were still hidden but she could see them. There was no way they were getting her.

She crawled under the car and shot another one that was standing next to the dumpster. Hikari almost screamed in fear as she saw the man near the dumpster fall to the ground holding his leg. Sora looked around but there were no more crooks anywhere, so she crawled from under the car. Her fake hair was soaked and so she took it off too, releasing her light brown hair.

Her rain coat was all dirty with mug and her clothes were wet. She ran to the dumpster. Hikari contained herself as she saw the crimson eyed running towards her hiding spot. Sora leaned against it. "Stay here until its safe to come out, okay?" she said. Hikari almost yelled. How could Sora have known she was there? "Okay." She replied timidly. "I would come to pick you myself but it might be dangerous if they're still following me, so you have to go when you see its safe." She continued. Then suddenly Sora looked into the dumpster where a dirty Hikari still held her camera.

"I don't want you to get hurt. Your brother wouldn't take it." Sora smiled. Hikari gasped as she saw how truly she was speaking. Then suddenly more shooting was heard. Sora ducked on the opposite wall of the dumpster. And then Taichi appeared in both of the girls view. He jumped into a guy and knocked him off.

"**Shut the fuck up.**" Taichi shouted to the guy that simply put his hands on his head as he was told. Taichi held his gun from a safe distant and was taking the handcuffs from his belt. "Resisting arresting, shooting against a policeman. I sure hope you have a good lawyer." He smirked.

Sora watched carefully looking for Yamato. There was no way she could go help him. He would ask too many questions. She motioned Hikari to stay still as she tried to escape without Taichi knowledge. It was when she looked to the opposite street of Taichi's that she saw Hiroshi standing there. He had a gun and was pointing it to Taichi.

Sora's mind raced at speed light but her legs couldn't carry her at that speed. "**Watch out!**" she screamed as she jumped to the brown haired guy knocking him to the floor. Almost immediately she could feel the metal penetrating her skin and she screamed holding her shoulder. Taichi was still too shocked to acknowledge what happened next. Sora stood up quickly as she picked her gun, but too late.

Hiroshi kicked her gun. She stood in combat position. He smirked. "Do you really think you can fight me like that babe?" he smirked. Sora didn't pay attention to him and tried to punch him but he easily strayed from it and pushed her arm. Sora cried in pain holding her injured shoulder. By this time the other guy appeared from behind her and hit her with the back of his gun in her head. She felt to the ground.

Taichi tried to stand up to help her but the guy hit him harder and he felt unconscious to the ground, blood dripping from his head. Sora put herself on her knees and tried to get up. Hiroshi picked her by her hair and smiled. She managed to stand up but she was loosing too much blood and she was quickly losing her senses, also because she just felt like to fall asleep. She eyed him, her vision blurred by her tears and a thread of blood from a wound she got when she felt to the ground just above her right eye.

She saw Taichi lying unconscious on the ground. Hiroshi held her in his arms, with his hand still on her hand and approached her lips, but she kicked him in the balls and he let go of her. Unfortunately the guy behind her hit her and she felt to the floor. Her vision got even more blurred in a way she couldn't distinguish figures in front of her and then she blacked out.

Hiroshi smirked and pointed his gun to Taichi. Hikari covered her ears and closed her eyes, her tears rolling freely through her face, still hurt from the scene she had just seen. Hiroshi pointed and prepared to shoot until… "Taichi?" Yamato called his friend from the top of the same street. He saw the two men standing there and two bodies and he feared the worst. He started running.

Hiroshi turned to is partner. "Bring her. She knows too much." He ordered the other guy. With that he picked Sora's body over his shoulder and carried her. Yamato kept running but when he got there the two had disappeared. He leaned over Taichi's body to see if he was alive and sighed with relief as he felt a pulse. He then looked around as he heard footsteps. He picked his gun and turned to face a frightened Hikari.

"Hikari, **what the hell are you doing here**?" he asked her as he put his gun back in its place, but the next second Hikari fainted to his arms. He held her hearing the coming sounds of the ambulance he had called for, along with the reinforcements.

* * *

_Wow, this chapter is so awesome. I loved re-reading it. It actually felt like I was reading something new, cause I couldn't remember what I had written._

_Hope you've liked it. And don't forget to click on the bottom that says review. I would really like to know what your feelings are about this fic._

_Ja ne..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Eighth Chapter

Taichi slowly opened one eye and then another. His vision was still a little blurred and he couldn't quite see where he was. He tried to sit on the bed where he lied but he immediately felt a strong pain in the back of his head. He put his hand over it and felt a bump. "**What the hell!**" he asked himself at loud as he backed off in his head to the last thing he remembered, and that was Sora standing up and then falling as a guy hit her, then all blacked out.

He watched his surroundings to almost immediately acknowledge he was in a hospital. He saw Yamato talking to a nurse in the corner of the room. "Hey, Yama." He called his friend. Yamato turned and a smile appeared across his face as he slowly walked to meet his injured friend.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he picked a nearby chair and sat by Taichi's bed side. The brown haired watched quietly. "Where's Sora?" he asked. Yamato looked confusedly at him. "Sora!" he replied. "What do you mean? Sora must be at work by now."

Taichi felt immediately sick as he heard Yamato's words. He didn't know Sora had been there. But where could she be. Just then he remembered something. He remembered he was… "I was arresting a guy…" he started. Yamato looked at him still confused. _Maybe they hit him a little too hard._ he thought. "…and suddenly someone jumped on me and we both felt to the ground. I heard a scream and just then Sora stood up." Taichi continued. Yamato raised an eyebrow. "She saved me, but she got injured. The bullet hit her on her shoulder. Then Hiroshi appeared on the picture. He kicked Sora's gun and the other guy hit her. She fell. I was trying to stand up and then…all blacked out." He finished, staring at the ceiling.

Yamato looked very worried by that moment. "You mean she was there?" Taichi nodded. "Men, then she was the other body. They must have taken he because she was no longer there when I arrived." He replied and immediately stood up. But then he seemed to remember something and came back. "Look, I don't know how or why, but your sister was there." Yamato replied. Taichi's face immediately contracted in panic. He tried to get up but his head hurt too much.

"Don't worry, she's okay, just upset, but maybe you should go talk to her. Maybe she knows something." Yamato replied as he left the room to inform his superiors that a police was missing.

On the next room a very upset Hikari tried not to cry on her fiancée's lap. Takeru had come almost immediately as Yamato had called him. Hikari was okay, she hadn't bruises or anything but she was psychologically shaken. He had tried to make her talk several times but she just kept holding him tightly and crying like a newborn baby.

Taichi slowly peeked into the room and then entered. Takeru watched him and his eyes showed pure concern, pleading to Taichi to help him. Taichi approached his sister and took her in his arms. Hikari looked at him and embraced him strongly. "I was so afraid Taichi." She cried into his lap. Takeru took the moment and left, leaving the two siblings to talk alone.

Outside he saw Mimi, the psychologist. She had a very sick look on her face. He knew his brother was dating her so he went to talk with her. "Hey, you're Mimi right?" he asked extending his hand. She shook it with a confused look as she nodded. "Yeah, and you're…?" she asked. Takeru shook himself mentally. _Of course she doesn't know who you are Takeru._ "I'm Takahashi, Takeru. Ishida, Yamato's brother." He presented himself.

Mimi watched him carefully and smiled. He really had many resemblances with Yamato. He had his blue eyes and his blond hair. …_and his manners as well._ she thought to herself as she stood in front of the young man. But just then she started feeling sick again. She excused herself and left running to the bathroom where she started throwing up again for the third time that morning.

In Hikari's room, Taichi still held his sister in his arms as she cried now softly. "Come on sis. You're strong. It's over now. I'm here." He said as he rocked her back and forward like a baby. She finally stopped crying and looked at her brother. "I got so scared. I thought I would loose you. If it wasn't for Sora…?" She replied as she wiped her tears.

Sora's name lightened a flame on Taichi's heart again. He had to know if Hikari knew what had happened to Sora. He looked to her in her eyes. "Sora was there wasn't she? Do you know what happened to her? And what were you doing down there?" he asked.

Hikari allowed herself to let go off her brother and looked down. "I'll tell you. But promise you won't be mad at me." She said to him. He sat back on her bed and watched her carefully. If she was afraid he would get mad, then she must have been doing something wrong. He sighed. "Okay, but tell me."

The brown haired girl took a deep breath and started telling her brother what she had been doing in the past six weeks. He stared unbelievably at her. But Hikari couldn't care less now. She too was worried about the woman that had saved her brother's life and she would do anything to help her now. She still remembered her care about her when she found her in the dumpster.

"… then he grabbed her by her hair but she kicked him in the balls. The other guy then hit her on the head and she went unconscious. They were about to kill you when Yamato appeared and they picked her up and left you there." Hikari finished telling her story.

Taichi searched in the story for clues about the place where she could be. "You said you were filming?" he asked. Hikari only nodded. "Did you film that?" he asked anxiety in his voice. She nodded once more. "I have the tapes there." She said as she pointed to a pack on the floor where her camera lied. He kissed her forehead.

"We talk about the following after, your silly sis." He said as he picked the tapes and ran out the hospital.

Yamato walked off the room where he had been phoning Jyou about the last events. He looked around trying to find Mimi, but he couldn't see her anywhere. He wanted her too see his soon to be sister in law. He walked near Hikari's room and saw Takeru standing next to the door.

"Takeru?" he called. The younger blond turned to see his brother. "Have you seen Mimi around?" Takeru nodded. "Yeah, she ran to the bathroom about fifteen minutes ago." He replied. Yamato immediately went to the girls' bathroom and knocked. He could hear a faint sound of someone throwing up. "Mimi, is that you?" he asked.

Suddenly the door opened and Yamato peeked in to see his girlfriend sitting on the floor with a very sick look. He ran to her and held her next to him. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked. Mimi shook her head. "No! I'm having morning sickness." She replied. Yamato eyed her confused as certain thoughts haunted his troubled mind at the moment.

Mimi turned to him and held his face in both her hands. "I think I'm pregnant." She told him. Yamato felt sick and sat against the wall by her side. "You can't." he replied. She nodded. "Yes I can." Yamato looked at her. "But… but we wore protection!" he said still astonished. The truth was that he didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he should be happy or not. He closed his eyes and rubbed his tempers.

In a typical abandoned warehouse, a drop fell into the face of a girl. Then another followed. The girl slowly opened one of her eyes and then the other, but she couldn't see very well. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the few light inside the room she was. She felt another drop fall through her back. She tried to turn to one side, but she had a major pain in her shoulder.

She looked around her to quickly figure what had happened. She was in a dark room. The only light came from the doorway and it couldn't illuminate the entire room. There were no windows or any other thing where light could get through. She felt a liquid run down her forehead and tried to reach it and she noticed her hands were bounded strongly. She sat on the bed she was and looked over to her shoulder.

The bleeding had stopped and they seemed to have put some kind of cloth wrapped around it but it still hurt. She then felt a strong pain on the back of her head an as she reached with both her hands she noticed a bump was there. She sighed as she tried to figure a way to get out of there.

Once again she looked around. Besides the bed in the corner of the room, there were only a few buckets catching some rain drops. She quite for a while trying to hear something but the only thing she could hear was the rain dropping above the warehouse. She looked at the bed. It was an old iron bed. She kicked it and managed for one of the tubs of the old bed to come out.

Sora quickly tried to cut the rope with it. Suddenly she heard a noise and a sudden burst of light entered the room. Then a ceiling lamp was lightened by the person that had just entered. Sora covered her eyes as the bright lights stroke her. She then heard footsteps coming in her direction. She uncovered her eyes and for absolute hate, Hiroshi was standing there.

He walked towards her and grabbed the tub throwing it away with a laugh. "Trying to escape already?" he smirked as he sat besides her. Sora immediately stood up and walked to the other side of the room. He stood up and made a disappointed sound with tongue. "Come on Sora. We've know each other for quite a long time now, don't we?" he said still in the same place.

Sora didn't look at him or replied. "Do you remember the first time we met?" he smirked taking a step closer. Sora backed up. "You almost caught me with my pants down, if you know what I mean?" he laughed. "That was an easy catch, you know? She came to me, asking for cocaine, but the poor girl had no money. I don't like to leave a distress lady, so I purposed her a deal." He told her as he came near and near. Sora kept backing off.

"She felt good with it until the moment I started taking her clothes." He trailed off. "Well, then she got really upset and she wanted to give up, but as you see, I was already in the idea of fucking her, so… I couldn't really get my mind off of it." Sora heard in silence. In her head she imagined herself cutting the guy in pieces, making him scream, making him suffer.

"She screamed in the first times, but then…well, I guess she was exhausted. After all, she had only sixteen and I was really hungry. She was a nice…" Hiroshi continued, but he couldn't say another word as Sora threw herself on him, trying to kill him. "**You fucking bastard**." She shouted angry. He pushed her off of him, sending her to the floor. He then walked to her and picked her by her hair. Sora tried to fight back, but that was kind of difficult as her hands were bounded and he pulled her to the wall.

She winced as he squeezed her with his body against the wall, making her shoulder hurt. "You're so easy to annoy. You should get temper management." He replied as he pulled her hair, making her leave her neck exposed. He smelled it and looked into her eyes. He was inched from her. "I have a business to purpose you too." He replied. Sora eyed him carefully wondering the kind of dirty deal he wanted.

"It's like this: I don't let my buddies kill you, but you stay with me forever and be… _my personal assistant_. After all, you got skills." He replied. Sora spit on his face, but he managed to avoid it. "I'd rather die than be your horn." She replied bitterly. He smiled. "That's kind of funny you know. I could have you right here, right now if I wanted to." He replied. As he did he leaned forward and forced his mouth on hers. Sora bit his lips making him take a step backwards.

Hiroshi sighed annoyed and slapped her with all his strength, making her fall to the ground. She winced in pain as she met the hard floor with her injured shoulder. A thread of blood started to run down the corner of her mouth. "You die today, bitch." He said as he walked to her again. He pulled her hair and forced his lips against hers once more, but this time, she was just too stunned to fight back and she didn't have the strength to fight him as he forced his tongue into her mouth.

He smirked as he pulled apart and stared at her lying on the floor still stunned then he left the room. Sora managed to turn on her back, but she had no strengths to do anything else and her eyes closed quickly.

The police department was reunited in the common room to know news about Sora. Taichi and Yamato had found Koushiro and he told them he knew about a way to find Sora. Suddenly Jyou entered in the room. The circle that surrounded the guys opened for the chief. "Ishida, Yagami and Izumi in my office right now." He demanded. Then he left to his office.

Yamato and Taichi along with Koushiro exchanged confused looks and started heading towards the office. Jyou was sitting behind his desk like always. He motioned them to close the curtains and so they did. Jyou stood up. "What news we have on her?" the elder asked. He should be about ten years older than the presents since Taichi and Yamato were both twenty six and Koushiro was only a year younger. Jyou seemed to have about thirty seven or eight but his features would point to forty. He was a strong man though his appearance seemed weak and degraded by the years.

Taichi eyed him curiously wondering what type of relationship Jyou might have with Sora, but the fact was that he often treated her like she was his own daughter. Sora was twenty four years and was heading for twenty five. In fact there would only be some months till her birthday.

Koushiro cleared his throat and prepared to speak. "We can know her location because she has a location devise with her. She asked me about three weeks ago to give one to her while she worked undercover." Koushiro said. Jyou only nodded and headed out of his office. "Let's talk in the tactic room." He said as he walked off. The three followed him.

They were all sitting around a big square table. The lights were off and they were watching the images from Hikari's filming. Koushiro, meanwhile, was given some useful information that he along with Sora and now Hikari's film had managed to join. "We think he might have a deal with a terrorist. He was in the room when Sora entered as you might see." He said pointing to the screen where a image of a guy with his head covered with a scarf and wearing a tunic was. "This is Abu Saliz. He is the head of one of the most deathly societies in the Arabian territory." He continued.

The room was listening very carefully what Koushiro was saying. "This guy is not easy to catch and he won't be fooled by us. The moment he thinks he's in danger he disappears." Taichi tapped his foot impatiently. He was waiting for Jyou to give them green light to catch the bad guys and save Sora. He didn't know what they were going to do with her and besides she was injured. They would probably kill her and they were chatting around.

Taichi stood up and interrupted Koushiro. "I'm sorry, but we seem to have missed the point. Sora…I mean, Officer Takenouchi is being held by them and she's probably walking to her death right now. What measures can we take?" he asked a little annoyed. Jyou watched Taichi carefully for a few seconds trying to figure the reason he was so worried, but it was kind of obvious. Deep inside he had pity from him, because he was certain that Sora would break his young heart, but in another perspective, maybe this was the one guy for her. Maybe he could break her icy heart.

He shook away those thoughts and got back to the reality they were living there right now. He was right, if they didn't take measures quickly his beloved _adoptive_ daughter could be killed. "I think officer Yagami has a point." Jyou replied. "Do we have enough proves to lock up Kenshi and Hiroshi?" he asked. Koushiro looked to both Yamato and Taichi.

"We can have him arrested for kidnapping, drug dealing, weapon's traffic and attempt of murder, aggravating the fact he tried to resist arresting and tried to murder two cops." He said. Jyou looked to the trio and nodded. "You have orders to save officer Takenouchi and arrest Kenshi and Hiroshi along with any other that crosses your way." He replied. "Now go, hurry."

Taichi and Yamato both stood up and ran out the door. Koushiro picked his tracing device and followed the two rushed men. Taichi entered his Subaru. "Koushiro lead the way." He said as the red headed guy entered the back of the car and put on the sit belt. Then he just pushed on the accelerator. The car winced and left a smoke cloud behind as Taichi drove off.

Hikari sat quietly on her bed. She thought about the things that had happened, but more important than that, she thought about Sora's sudden burst of kindness. The girl didn't want the younger to get hurt and was willing to sacrifice herself to save her brother. She knew for experience, that if Sora was as cold hearted as people thought she was she would never risk her life to save Taichi's.

"Maybe she does cares about him." She thought at loud. Maybe Sora did care about her brother. A smile spread along her face, knowing Taichi would be very happy to know that, but then the feeling that something was wrong shook her out of her happy thoughts. She remembered the older woman being beat up like she was nothing and the scream she let out as the bullet destined to her brother hit her in the shoulder. She remembered the two men taking her away and she started to worry again. She was worried that she might never see the girl again, because she might be death by now. And deep inside, though she didn't want to believe it, something told her that she was very close to death.

Takeru suddenly entered the room carrying a board. Hikari smiled at her fiancée. "You're so sweet." She replied as he sat at her side. She glanced over to the board. In it, a cup of orange juice, her favourite, toasts and chocolate cake seemed to smile to her. "I can't believe you did this by yourself." She replied placing a kiss on his hand that slowly put the board on her lap. "It looks wonderful. But you know, you don't need to spoil me like this. I'm okay now." She said.

He shook his head and placed his head on hers. "You're my girl and I'll do anything to see you well." He replied. "Now eat up. I made the cake myself. I know it's your favourite." He said. Hikari smiled one truth caring and lovely smile that she had only for him, not for her brother, but for him only. She just loved him too much.

Taichi drove madly in the high way in the direction of the sign. Fortunately for them, Hiroshi and his goons had never thought that Sora's clothes could have a microscopic tracking device. They were approaching the river that was outside the city. The rain had started again. The car slid on the wet floor, but being a native driver Taichi managed to control it better than anyone else. Koushiro though looked very frightened every time the car seemed to flee from Taichi's control.

The mind of the brown haired though, was very far from the driving or the place where he was. In his mind he tried to create a mental bound between him and Sora as he told her to hang on, because he was on his way to save her. He was trying hard not to think about the things they could be doing to her. He drove under Koushiro's orders as the red headed guy watched carefully the sign. Suddenly it stopped. "The sign stopped." He replied.

Yamato looked over to him. "What do you mean it stopped?" the blond asked. "It stopped by the edge of the river." He said. "But…wait, it's moving again. They are in the water." "The water!" the blond shouted. "Oh, my god. They're going to drown her." He yelled as he got to the one possible conclusion they could get. Taichi pushed the accelerator harder as his thought only raced to the mind of the crimson eyed girl. _Hang on Sora_.

Sora slowly opened her eyes. There was light this time. Lots of it. She turned and looked around her. She quickly discovered she was in a boat as she heard the motor and felt the balance of the boat from one side to the other. She was on the ground, tied with her hands behind her back around the mast in the middle of the boat. Suddenly the rain started dropping again.

The light brown haired girl panicked as she thought about what they were going to with her, but she kept her hope that somehow she would get away from there, alive. She waited for what it seemed hours thought it were only fifteen minutes. Then Hiroshi walked off the command cabin and over to her. He kneeled in front of her. "You can still change your mind." He said as he raised her chin with his thumb. Sora smirked and spit on his face. She watched in delight as the spit run down the man's face. She might be tied up but he would never submit her.

Hiroshi picked a scarf from his pocket and cleaned the spit. Then he turned over to her again. He looked into her eyed and pressed her throat making her stand up against the mast. His hand pressed her neck stronger and stronger and Sora started feeling the air failing her as he blocked her throat. She turned red from the lost of air as she desperately tried to breath. Hiroshi smirked and pressed his lips against hers. Then he hit her on the face, making another badly wound on her face that started bleeding.

Sora didn't felt to the ground because she was tied and simply sat back down on the same spot as she coughed trying to get air on her lungs. Suddenly the boat stopped. In that moment, Sora's heart just seemed to stop beating.

Taichi pulled over next to Hiroshi's car. Unfortunately, there were some of Hiroshi's guys around and Kenshi was there too. Kenshi eyed Taichi, his long hated enemy. "Hey Taichi, long time no see." He replied as he approached. Taichi looked from the river to him and then to the river again. _I really don't have time for this now._ he thought to himself. Yamato and Koushiro already had their guns ready to strike. He looked over to his friends and then picked his gun quicker than a thunder and hit Kenshi. He wasn't supposed to open fire like that and he could get into troubles but at the time being that didn't mattered.

"Call reinforcements and an ambulance." He ordered as the other guy fell to the floor injured in his leg. He motioned to pick his gun but Yamato stopped him. "Stay still or the next one will be pointed to your head." He replied. He looked over to the other guys. They all had been caught out of guard and didn't had time to pick their guns. "Everybody to the ground with your hands behind your head." He ordered.

Taichi looked over to the river and saw a boat in the middle of both shores. He glanced around him searching for a boat. He ran to a place where a guy prepared his motor boat to sail. Yamato could only see him as he was already on the boat heading to the boat in the middle of the river. Koushiro had picked up his walkie-talkie and had already followed Taichi's orders.

Hiroshi walked to her again. He kneeled besides her and untied her hands from the mast but then tied them again in her back. He made her get up and pushed her to the edge of the boat. Sora glanced over to the clean waters. _I'm going to die_. she thought hopelessly. Suddenly she heard a shot from a distance. Her heart bumped frightened.

Hiroshi heard it too and went over to the other side of the boat to watch what was going on. He sighed as he saw a brown haired guy, along with a blond and a red headed on the shore. He quickly went back to her with a rope on his hands. Sora looked to it and then to the anchor at her feet. Acknowledging her faith, she started struggling with Hiroshi as he tried to grab her feet. He finally decided the best way to get along with it was hit her again and so he did.

This time Sora fell to the floor. Her head hurt her, her shoulder was killing her and her face had some nasty cuts over her eye, forehead and mouth. She didn't have enough strength to get up again and she only sat and leaned against the side of the boat. Her vision was getting blur. Then she felt the cold water entering in contact with her skin. She struggled trying to get loose from the rope that was holding her to the anchor.

Taichi pulled over against the bigger boat and climbed on. He heard a splash and ran towards the place. He faced Hiroshi. This one was a little surprised to see him there but he quickly recovered. "So, you came to seal your life debt?" he smirked evilly. "I'm afraid you're too late, because Sora is already down there with the fishes."

The brown haired guy picked his gun but Hiroshi kicked it off and it felt to the water. It was a hand to hand combat. For a few moments they just studied each other, but Taichi was in hurry and he attacked first. He tried to hit Hiroshi on the stomach but he failed as the dark haired avoided him and struck him in the face. Taichi took two steps back and went to charge again.

Hiroshi smiled and picked up a knife. "I think you're going down there too. To make her company." He teased as he held the knife. He stepped forward and tried to hit Taichi with the knife, but Taichi slid to his right side and grabbed Hiroshi's hand making him release the knife. Then he used the same trick Sora used on him the first time they met and used his body to project Hiroshi to the ground. Unfortunately for Hiroshi, he hit with his head and fell unconscious to the ground.

Underwater, Sora fought for her life. She tried once more to get her hands down to the rope that tied her to the anchor to release herself but she couldn't. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster trying to bomb inexistent oxygen to her cells. Her lungs claiming for air and her brain blowing with the lack of oxygen. Her vision got blurred again as the pain fought to keep her alert. She opened her mouth in the longing for air and a bunch of water got into her lungs. She started to agonise and conscious left her rather quickly.

Taichi searched in the surface of the river for a sign of Sora. He knew she was down there. Then a couple of air bubbles came to the surface. He immediately dived in search for her. The river wasn't very deep but with the recent rains it should have about seven metres deep. He swam deeper and deeper and saw a small figure. He rushed there and grabbed Sora's body in his arms.

He quickly untied her from the anchor and swam to the surface. He gasped for air and pulled Sora's body to the smaller boat he had brought. He lied her on the floor and untied her hands. He searched for her pulse, but with her gloves he couldn't feel anything so he quickly took them off. He gasped as he saw her hands, but he quickly returned to more important business.

He couldn't feel her pulse and she wasn't breathing either so he started doing CPR on her. Meanwhile another boat stopped by his side. Yamato climbed up to Taichi's boat. He started at his blank friend lying on the ground. He didn't ask questions as he saw Taichi giving her CPR. He quickly went to the steering wheel and drove the boat to the shore.

Taichi kept doing her CPR, but she wasn't responding. _Come on Sora. _he thought and breath in her. _Don't give up. _he gave her heart massage. _I love you. Don't do this to me._ but still there was no response. Yamato pulled the boat over to the shore and called off the paramedics. They quickly came over and put her on the stretcher. "We take care of her from here." One of the paramedics said to him as she pulled him over so she could put Sora an oxygen mask.

They picked her and took her to the ambulance. Taichi followed them and entered the ambulance as well. "Sir, you should stay here and wait for the other ambulance." A female said to him. "You need to get those injuries treated." Taichi shook his head. "No, I'm coming with her." He motioned to Sora's direction. The woman sighed and let him in. Yamato and Koushiro along with some other policemen that were arresting the gang watched as the ambulance drove away.

Yamato looked over to Koushiro and saw him crying. He felt his own tears coming but he held them back. He placed a comfort arm around his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll survive." He said and headed for Taichi's car. "You guys take care from now on. I'm heading to the hospital." He said as he rushed in. Koushiro followed him.

In the ambulance, the paramedics fought against the death of their patient. They torn her wet clothes and cleaned her bare chest as they took off her other clothes covering her with the stretched sheets. "Clear." On of them shouted as he rubbed two pieces of the electric shock device. He put them over Sora's chest and her body bumped. "Still nothing." The woman said as she watched over the monitor. "Again. Up to three hundred and sixteen." The male paramedic said. "Clear." Once again Sora' body bumped.

Taichi watched in pure panic as he heart monitor kept a straight line. _Fight, you're a fighter, fight_. he demanded her mentally. Suddenly the monitor started beeping. The paramedics looked surprised to each other and then started to take care of Sora again. She was still breathing through an oxygen bomb but at least now her heart was beating.

He watched them as they looked for other injuries and started to clean her wounded face. His attention turned once more to her hands. He could clearly see that those scars were deep ones. Was it those scars that she was trying to hide? He glanced over to the paramedics as one of hem picked her hand. He raised an eyebrow.

"These are old scars." He said, talking to the female. "Maybe glass, don't you think?" the other nodded in agreement. She pulled Sora's quite form, so she could see if her head was injured. She gasped in shock. "Oh, my God."

The male paramedic went to his partner side to see what she why she was reacting so shocked.

In Taichi's car, Yamato drove behind the ambulance. He crossed his fingers for Sora to live. Meanwhile, Koushiro was trying to reach Daisuke with his mobile phone. "Hi, Daisuke here. I'm not available right now, but if you wish you might leave a message after the sign." Koushiro hang up the phone and sighed.

Yamato watched him. _Who is he trying to contact?_ he asked himself. He knew Koushiro and Sora had a special relationship, Taichi had told him, but did Sora had any other friend that they didn't know about? He then remembered to phone Mimi. He picked his phone and dialled her number.

"Mimi!" he asked into the phone. "Yeah." "Where are you?" Yamato sighed as he looked to the other sit to Koushiro. "I'm at the hospital. I have news for you." She said. "Look, we're going down there now. We found Sora but they tried to drown her, I don't know how she is." He replied. Mimi gasped from the other side. "Oh my, I hope she's okay. How's Taichi?" she asked, knowing about her friend's crush on Sora. "I really don't know, because he went in the ambulance with her." Yamato replied. "Okay, then I'll see you when you arrive." She said. And then both of them hang up.

Yamato looked extremely worried about something and Koushiro wasn't quite sure, if it was only about Sora. Something deep inside him told him, that Yamato had something else to worry about too. He smirked as he imagined the one thing that he could be worried that had to do with him, Mimi and a hospital.

In Sora's house, her phone's ring echoed through the empty apartment. Then, as no one was home to pick it up, the messages' recorder turned on. "I'm not home right now, but you can leave a message." Her cold voice sounded in the house like a haunting ghost. Then a beep was heard. "Hi, Sor, babe. It's me. I hope you've been well through this… what…eight years?" the voice from the other side talked in a sensual but still evil tone. "I'll phone you later. Ciao baby." Then the beep was heard again. In the recording machine a green light was blinking. The light of one new message.

* * *

_Well, I don't upload the entire story because then no one would review and I like to be reviewed, negatively or not._

_Therefore, thanks to all of you who have reviewed. I hope you've enjoyed another chapter._

_Don't forget to review or flame, I don't care, just send a message so I can know that someone's reading it._

_Ja ne... _


	9. Chapter 9

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Ninth Chapter

Mimi and Yamato made their ways from the gynaecologist's hall to the emergency room, where Taichi awaited for them in the waiting room. In the way they exchanged worried looks, not only about their two friends but about them as well. "What did they tell you?" Yamato asked as he looked once more to Mimi. He just couldn't help being concerned about the issue. He didn't feel ready to be a daddy and this entire pregnancy wasn't coming in a good time for Mimi either.

She looked over to him. She could tell by his looks that he was worried and she knew it wasn't about Sora at all. She slapped herself mentally. _How can I be so selfish? My friend is in critical condition and I'm worried about an unexpected pregnancy._ she thought, but she really couldn't help being worried. After all she had lots of plans for her and Yamato before they get married. Only then she would like to have a family. But she wasn't going to even think about abortion either. Anyway she worried that her baby might not have the life she wanted to give her children.

"I'm six weeks pregnant." She replied. Yamato thought for a while, and then something hit him. He gasped and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Mimi stopped and watched him. He gave her an understanding look, like a light had been lightened in the dark. "I know!" He replied. Mimi watched him confused. What the hell was he talking about, and then it hit her too.

"That day in the office." They both replied at the same time. They looked embarrassed around to see if anyone had seen them, but fortunately the hallway was clear. Yamato approached her and started whispering. Someone looking from the outside might have thought they were planning something evil. "That day was the only time we did it without protection." He replied. He slapped his forehead. "I can't believe. We make one mistake and it happens." He half uncovered half stated.

Mimi giggled. She approached him and pulled him by the collar of his shirt. Then she whispered into his ear. "That means you have good swimmers." She smiled. Yamato smiled too and then they both gave a clear and strong laugh.

Taichi paced from one side of the waiting room to the other. He really couldn't stop wondering and in only fifteen minutes he had discovered more then in one month. He wondered about the origin of Sora's scars. He was really shocked when the paramedics showed him the scars on her back, but just the ones she had on her hands made him worry about her. He couldn't quite figure what she could have done to gain such horrible scars.

He walked to the other side of the room. Sora was in surgery for about half an hour now. He really didn't know why they were taking so long. They had said it was only for them to retrieve the bullet in her shoulder, but now he was worrying that that might be something else they hadn't told him. He finally decided to sit down on one of the chairs in the room. He just hopped she wouldn't have any serious damage. Now that he had finally met a girl that he knew he could love, she was in the hospital. He had such a bad luck with women.

He stood up once more and started walking around again in a nervous way. Suddenly he heard a door opened. He quickly turned expecting to see a doctor whom he might ask what Sora's status was, but as he looked over he saw the two lovers coming in hand in hand. They both had smiles on their faces. He felt like to slap them, but he really couldn't blame them, so he just kept walking hoping they hadn't notice that he had seen them.

Yamato watched as his long time friend walked from one way to the other without stopping. It was quite obvious that he was nervous. In fact Yamato had never seen his friend so worried. Well maybe except that cursed day, when Hikari got really sick. He remembered that day as it had been yesterday. He could still see Taichi's panic face as he saw his sister tumbling to the ground. His concern as he waited for the ambulance to arrive. How he had made sure they treated well his sister. But now it was a little different though.

He couldn't see the brotherly worry but a lovely worry. The worry we only have with those which we love. The concern we only give to those whom we want to spent the rest of our lives. He couldn't figure if his friend already knew the huge crush he had on Takenouchi, Sora, but for anyone else who didn't know him, they could say it was his wife in the surgery.

He walked towards him and patted him in the back. "Don't worry. Sora's made of stone." He told him in a reassurance voice. Only then he managed to see his wet tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He was astonished because he had never seen Taichi crying. He had just too much pride to let others see him when he was crying. In a way that remind him of Sora. He only remembered to see her cry once. And that was when Taichi had grabbed her and knocked her to the floor the day she got suspended. Even then he could see how these two would somehow be together. They were soul mates.

Taichi looked up to his friend and he felt the tears forming in his eyes. He immediately wiped them away as he looked to the other side turning his back on Yamato. His friend watched him but he did not try to turn him around. He knew him just too well to be doing something like that. He knew that right now Taichi needed time to heal his wounds. And he knew Taichi had been through a lot. Just like Sora.

The time passed by rather quickly. Mimi was sitting in a chair eating some crackers that Yamato had bought for her. They were in each others arms. Taichi had managed to calm himself when some minutes earlier a doctor had passed by and told them the surgery had gone well and they were just running some tests. He had sat himself in the chair again and was now buried in his hands watching the happy couple.

He could almost see himself with Sora that way, but something else cracked in his mind. They were sitting under a tree kissing and just having each other in a warm embrace. They knew they could spend hours, day, months, like that. Sora was no longer the stone hearted girl. She was now a lovely wife and a caring mother. He watched as his and Sora's kids run around the park playing football. A girl that had Sora's eyes and Taichi's hair. She looked a lot like his sister when she was little, and an older boy, with his eyes and a massive wild light brown hair. They kicked the ball to each other and Taichi couldn't help but smile as he heard them giggle.

A sound of wheels with a really great need of oil brought him back to reality. His daydream vanished quickly as he saw the stretcher being pushed by a little blond nurse. In it, Sora lied. Her arm was crossed on her chest and her shoulder was bandaged. He followed the stretcher. Yamato and Mimi did the same. They awaited that the nurses ended up putting Sora in her hospital bed and then entered the room.

Besides her bandaged shoulder, she had her head bandaged as well. Her eyes were closed and she slept peacefully. Taichi watched her carefully. Her lip was cut in the corner and she had some bruises in her face and arms. She had also a mark of hands around her neck. The nurse made them promise they would leave soon, so they eventually had to leave.

Yamato and Mimi entered Yamato's car, a light grey Suzuki, and said goodbye to Taichi that stood in the walk way. "Are you sure you don't need us to get you home?" Yamato asked. He somehow founded hard to believe that Taichi might actually be coming home. Taichi smiled trying to reassure his friend he **would** get home and shook his head refusing the proposal. Mimi though, decided to give it another try. "You know you can come to talk with me anytime." She blinked at him. _Typical psychologist._ Taichi thought.

They finally left and Taichi started heading towards his dark Subaru. He opened it and entered. He sat on the front sit for a while. He couldn't get his mind off Sora. He then stood up and headed again towards the hospital. He entered Sora's room and sat in the chair next to her bed side. He looked into her angelical face as she slept and he felt like kissing her lips. But that wasn't fair, since she was asleep. He wouldn't do that to her.

Instead he turned his gaze to her hand. He raised his hand towards her. He stopped for a while but then he started tracing her scars in the back of her hand with his fingers. She shivered and he took back his hand, but then, he grabbed her hand in his. He felt its warmness and the softness. He leaned against the chair in a comfortable position for him to sleep. As he was drifting away in his sleep, he felt her grip around his hand tight. He only opened his eyes for briefly seconds. As he did, he saw her turning her head to her hand and put his hand next to it. And then she smiled. After that lonely moment of affection he got back into his dream world.

In the middle of the night, a nurse entered the room. She saw Taichi lying next to Sora. She was about to tell him he shouldn't be there, when she saw he was asleep. She then followed his hand to the patient hand and she smiled. She got a cover and put it over Taichi, and then she walked off again, smiling to herself, remembering her young time.

The rain still dropped heavily outside. A young boy pushed his gabardine to his head trying to cover himself from the hard raindrops. He stopped in front of an old building. Some of the bricks were showing. He smirked, his face was covered but his grin was still noticeable. He entered the building and shook himself inside of it, to dust some of the rain off. He then walked upstairs and knocked at one of the old doors. He waited for several minutes but as no one replied he then reluctantly turned back and made his way back down. Inside the apartment, the few light from the new rainy morning shone over a couch that stood in the middle of the room.

Sora awoke suddenly from another nightmare. She didn't sit straight on the bed she was lying, but she opened her eyes in a sudden way. Then she felt a breeze washing over her hands. She looked besides her and for her stupefaction Taichi sat quietly asleep in the chair next to her. A cover that had been probably covering him was now on the floor, but more surprising than that, she noticed she was holding hands with him.

She took her hand from his and looked at her surroundings to realize she was in the hospital. Her shoulder was bandaged and she felt her head bandaged too. She then looked over her hands and saw she wasn't wearing her gloves. She instinctually covered them under the sheets. Her mind was too confused, not quite about the reason she was there, because that she remembered quite well. She caressed her throat as she remembered the feeling of drowning. What she couldn't understand was the reason Taichi sat there and why she had woken grabbing his hand. She blushed at the thought of it, but then she quickly regained her composure, shaking away any kind of thoughts about Taichi.

Suddenly a nurse came in the room. Sora sat on her bed and watched as the nurse came towards her, all of her smiling. "How do you feel today?" she asked. Sora didn't reply right away as she watched the nurse walking towards Taichi and picking the cover and putting it over him again. "I had to spend most of the night covering him." She smiled to her. The nurse then started taking her pressure and checking her status. Sora looked at the nurse and then again to Taichi.

She watched him sleeping for a while. He seemed so peaceful. He looked like a baby. She envied his sleep. He slept peacefully without nightmares and all his face transmitted calm and serenity to all the people looking at him. He was just like a child. She glared at his smile. He was smiling in his sleep. In her mind she could only see his smile and how beautiful it was, but then she remembered his eyes. She had never thought of how beautiful they were. Shining in a soft tone of brown, reminding her of sweet taste of chocolate. A pool of kindness and affection.

"How long has he been here?" she asked distraughtly looking over to him. The nurse ended her duties and looked over to the young girl before her. Once again, she noticed something. She deeply knew this girl and this boy were meant to be together, but she also knew their path wouldn't be easy as this girl had deep traumas.

"He has been here all night." She replied as she walked off leaving Sora alone with her thoughts. _All night!_ _Shit, he might have seen my hands. And the others? What I'm going to do?_ she asked herself. A tear rolled down her face but she quickly wiped it. She turned to the window. The raindrops beat against the glass creating a soft melody. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. All those years trying to hid her scars and in one simple accident, she had blown up everything. No one was supposed to know about her anguish years. The years she would try to stay as far as she could from the place she called home and the man was supposed to be her father.

A hand suddenly shook her off her thoughts. She turned frightened and faced Taichi warm eyes staring concerning at her. She immediately motioned to cover her hands, but he grabbed them. She lowered her head not to meet his gaze as tears kept forming in the corner of her eyes. He raised her head with his hand and made her look into his eyes.

"You don't need to hide from me." He said. His voice echoed in her in her head. She couldn't forget it, she wouldn't forget. She concentrated on him. There he was, a man willing to give his love to her, and deep down she knew she loved him too, but she couldn't forget about the past and surrender once again to love, could she? She didn't think so. Not after the pain of being heart broken, of being betrayed. Her pass was only pain and the nightmare still haunted her in the present. He would hurt her too. She was sure of it.

He let go her hands and she covered them with the sheets, but she didn't lie on her bed, she sat. Taichi watched her. Her behaviour was like that of a lost frightened animal. He couldn't bear seeing her like that. He liked her fighter spirit, but right now, she was like a child longing for support and love. Love that he was ready to give her, but he wasn't sure she would accept.

There were moments of silence. The only sound they could hear was the sound of the raindrops on the window and the thunders. It was only for a few minutes, but for both of them it looked like centuries had passed. Still none was able to break it. It was a painful silence, like expecting the eruption of a volcano. It takes years and years but one day it explodes and no one can escape from it.

Sora was the first to break the silence. No matter how much it hurt she needed to know. She was ready now. "Did the others see my…my…?" she whispered, not louder then a breath. Taichi, though, knew exactly what she wanted to know. He shook his head and he could see her face relaxing a little bit. But he knew she would never relax, because he had seen it and for her that was painful enough. He wanted explanations. He wanted to know what had happened to her, but he didn't want to rush her into that type of questions because he knew that that was a painful issue, not for her body, but for her mind. But even then, some doors opened because now he knew what he was facing. He wasn't walking in the dark anymore. At least, now he knew what made her so cold. He knew the answer relied on those hands.

He stood up. "I'm going to take a coffee but I'll be back soon." He smiled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He wasn't asking any questions; instead he was leaving her with her own thoughts. In that moment something inside her heart seemed to heal. It beat faster as she saw him walking away. In her mind his voice echoed and his smile flashed with millions of lights surrounding it. In her cold stoned darkened path she could see a light. And she was going to follow it. Step by step.

Koushiro had come back to his house. He was now trying to get a hold on Daisuke. He had tried several times to reach him but he couldn't as his phone went always to the message. He had phoned Yamato earlier that morning and had made sure his friend was okay. But he needed to get a hold on Daisuke. He was supposed to be looking after Sora and he had failed, but that wasn't the point right now. The point was Daisuke had made him promise he would call him if something happened to Sora.

He walked around his house. It was a beautiful house. It had two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. He was in the living room that was decorated in soft tones of cream. He had a big window in the room that had over it a pair of long heavy cream curtains. His sofa was a pale yellow and he had a single piece of furniture that held the television and several books. In fact, besides the television the only thing he had, were books.

He sat on the couch and watched some television. Suddenly the phone rang. He went to pick it immediately. "Hello?" he replied to the speaker. From the other side of the line a familiar voice replied him in a concerned voice. "What's happening? You've called me all morning." Daisuke asked. Koushiro sat on the couch again with his mobile on his hand. "Look, you don't need to worry, but I promise I would call so I did it." He paused gaining his breath. The night hadn't been one of the best as he had been called to resume the happenings of yesterday.

"Is it Sora?" Daisuke asked. Panic could be sense in his voice. "I said to calm down. She's okay. She was lucky only to get hit in her shoulder. Some bruises but nothing else." He replied. Daisuke sighed in relief, and Koushiro could hear it. "Good. Let me guess. That cover operation she was on…?" he asked. Koushiro allowed himself to release a small laugh. "Yeah, you know how she is." "Yeah, unfortunately she can be too stubborn sometimes."

Koushiro let out a sigh. "I'm sorry for not having taken good care of her." He excused himself. Daisuke laughed from the other side. "Are you kidding? When I asked you to take care of her, I meant you would be there by her side when she needed it. You can't be her bodyguard. She wouldn't allow it to you or anybody else." He laughed. The red headed guy was happy to hear this. After so many years separated he wouldn't want to ruin his relationship with Daisuke again.

"I'm the one who should say sorry, you know?" Daisuke kind of sighed from the other side. "I should have told you about what happened to her, but she's just too damn stubborn and didn't allow me. I'm sorry." He said. This time Koushiro felt a hint of sorry of his friend. Keeping Sora's secret couldn't have been easy to him and even knowing how it was ruining his relationship he kept it. He was, surely, the best friend both him and Sora could have.

"So, how're things going there?" he asked changing the topic. "Well, you know, entraining and…entraining and…entraining." Daisuke laughed.

Sora smelled something in the air. She hadn't smelled something like that in years. In fact, she couldn't quite remember that smell, it was a rare one. It smelled like flowers. For brief sweet moments Sora could almost see her mother. She had never met her, but she had seen pictures of her. She had a great smile and her eyes sparkled like two rubies. Her short brownish hair with a hint of red. She remembered her father complaining sometimes about how much she used to dedicate her time to flowers. Her mom had a flower shop.

That smell in some odd way made her remember her mother. It was like she could remember her first life seconds, short time before her mother died. And deep inside her, she knew her mother smelled like that. That delicate, fresh and sweet scent of flowers. But it was one flower in particular.

----Flashback----

Sora walked through the streets of Odaiba. There was a small gentle spring breeze that made her shoulder length light brown hair sail across it. She stopped and inhaled the soft breeze closing her eyes feeling a strange sense of liberty. Her two friends walking beside her looked behind to see where their friend had stopped. Koushiro slapped his forehead seeing Sora extending her arms and taking a deep breath. Daisuke on the other hand just watched her.

Sora smelled the air. There was freshness in it. She just loved spring time. She loved the big green trees and lying in the grass just staring at the crimson evening sky as the sun set on the horizon. Suddenly something shook her off her thoughts of liberty. A smell, a sweet delicate smell. She looked around trying to figure from where it came.

Koushiro and Daisuke watched as their friend looked around. "What is she doing?" Daisuke asked in a bored voice. "I'm getting sleepy." Koushiro glared at him as Daisuke yawned and stretched his arms. "I believe she's looking for something." He concluded.

The crimson eyed continued looking around trusting her nose to lead her to the place from where the smell came. She turned around in the opposite direction of the wind and started walking. It was a faint smell but she somehow found it familiar. She ended up in a flower shop and to her surprise there they were. A simple bouquet of twelve red roses causing her an enormous pleasure. She looked at them for a while until Daisuke and Koushiro appeared behind her.

Sora had never felt attracted somehow to any kind of flowers but those had a particular smell that remind her of her mother. She thought that was impossible, since her mother died giving her birth, but there they were and she was so sure that that particular sweet smell was just like her mother's.

She reached to the back of her pocked for her wallet. She picked it and counted the money she had. She wanted so badly to take a rose with her. The guys just watched as Sora entered the store and bought a single red rose that she held in her hands with caution. It was like she was spellbound by the rose as she looked at it in such an intense way.

Maybe if she knew what was waiting her at home for carrying a single flower she wouldn't have even thought about buy it. But then again, maybe she would.

----End Of Flashback----

Destiny has those kinds of things. As she opened her eyes there they were. Not a single rose like the one she had managed to buy with her few money but a bouquet of red flowers lying by her side on the hospital bed. She sat quickly and looked amazed. It was no dream, but she had to close her eyes and open them again to still believe. But it was real, there, besides her, lied twelve red roses involved in a lovely bouquet with a liaison and a note.

She reached for them and retrieved the note. It was a simple note made of recycled paper with a flower in the layer. She opened it. Inside she read:

_Dear Sora:_

_I don't know what happened to you or the reason why you keep pushing me away, but I would just like to say that no matter what happens I would never hurt someone for who I care, in this case, I would never hurt you. I just wanted you to give me a chance to prove you that not all people are the same. The chance to prove that I will never hurt you. Please?_

_Taichi Yagami_

She read it for several times until she had memorized what it said. That had been the sweetest thing anyone had ever given her. She didn't have many people who offered her presents. In fact, only Koushiro and Daisuke did, but none of them had ever bought her roses. That had its logic, since red roses were the symbol of love.

She held the flowers next to her as tears began to fall down her face. She also wanted him, but the fear of being hurt again was so bad that she wasn't sure it would be good to give him a chance. She couldn't possible survive another heartbreak. She had promise to herself. She couldn't break that promise, but… she cared for him. Could it possible be true love? She didn't know. She never did.

As she held the roses closer to her a thorn perforated her soft skin. She released the flowers that fell to her lap. She held her finger and sucked the blood around it putting the finger in her mouth. The blood kept falling and one drop eventually fell in the bed sheets. She then looked to the roses again. Even them so sweet and beautiful could hurt her, but still she couldn't help picking them up again and holding them in her hands again. Even so she couldn't stop her nose from approaching the danger petals that could be hiding more thorns and smell them once more.

Yamato and Mimi lied side by side in Yamato's bed. She was asleep, but Yamato on the other hand was quite awake. He stared at the ceiling trying to figure out what to do with his life. He really loved Mimi, but was it forever? Could he possible marry her? She was expecting his child. He couldn't let his child live in a home where his mother and father don't love each other. But he couldn't let his child live in a broken home either, where only one of the two would be there for him, while the other would only see him in the weekends.

He knew, though, that Mimi would never let her child stay away from her, so he would be the one to only see him or her in the weekends. He turned in his bed. Extending his arm he reached for a small black velvet box inside the drawer of the night table. He held it in his trembling hands and a sigh escaped his lips. He opened it and watched the ring inside it. He wasn't sure about the future but he loved Mimi now and he couldn't think that he would not love her forever now that they had something that bounded them.

He put the velvet box back in its original place and returned to his sleep. He wondered how his younger brother was so sure it would be Hikari the only girl in his life. But then again, their situation was a different one. They knew each other since little children. Whenever Taichi went to play to his house, Hikari would go with him and whenever he went to Taichi's house Takeru would go with him. While he and Taichi played naval battle, monopoly and playstation, Hikari and Takeru would go to his or hers room and would play by themselves.

Even as they grew and Yamato and Taichi grew slightly apart, thinking different and having different interests, Takeru and Hikari had remained together. Their relationship was from an awesome friendship to unconditional love. But he and Mimi; he knew her for five years but they had only started dating last year. It was a trustful relationship, but they didn't act like any in love normal couple. He didn't kept kissing her and sending her presents and she didn't kept calling him and hanging around with him

But that could partially be because they didn't have much time to spend together. He just wasn't sure about the whole situation. He just thought that it was better that he told himself that he truly loved her. That they were soul mates like his brother and Hikari, and that their relationship would be the greatest. He turned around again, after had convinced himself and went back to sleep.

Taichi stepped out the cafeteria of the hospital. He prepared himself mentally for whatever it was going to happen next. He didn't know. Sora was just a surprise box. When he thought he had seen her doing anything she came up with something different, so he couldn't really figure her reaction to his present. It had been the greatest idea he had had in quite a long time.

----Flashback----

The massive wild brown haired guy entered the police department. He quickly made his way to his desk and started searching through the tons of papers in the disorganized drawers for a phone number. He was interrupted several times in his frenetic search by some mates that wanted to know the last news about their female mate. He would give them quick short answers just to keep them away.

He was getting desperate when the damn paper finally crossed his fingers. He raised the paper in a triumph pose that made three quarters of the policemen in the floor stare at him. He quickly reduced himself to his insignificance and crawled off the department.

Already outside he entered his dark blue Subaru and closed the door. He picked his cell phone that was recharging in the car and dialled Koushiro's number. He was desperately in need of useful information about Sora. Koushiro would normally send the guy for a walk, but since it was Taichi talking and he really thought he was a good guy for her friend, he kindly gave him the information he needed.

After that, Taichi drove to the nearest flower shop and bought a bouquet of a dozen red roses. The guy in the flower shop smirked as he saw Taichi's excited face. "Do you have a new girl, Taichi?" he asked. Taichi glared at the younger boy. He was usually quiet and reserved but sometimes he couldn't get over his curiosity. The boy had short brown hair and amazingly, he had green eyes. He had a pale skin and he dressed in a long cream tunic along with a pair of brown pants.

"You should mind your own business Iori." He replied to the younger boy. This one though, didn't seem to care about what he had just said and he kept peeking on what Taichi was writing in the card that was supposed to accompany the flowers.

"It's a mysteries' girl?" he half teased, half stated. From Taichi he only received another glare. Iori sighed and turned back to the flowers. He was now arranging some dark tulips. Very beautiful indeed. They were his favourites. He was capable of spending hours and hours just admiring how beautiful they were. He sighed once more. "You always pick the hard ones, right Taichi?" he sighed to his elder friend.

Taichi raised his eyebrow but then let out a sigh. "Yeah, it looks like I'm doomed to be an uncle." He put his elbows over the table and stared at the tulips that Iori was arranging. The two men remained like that for a few seconds, until Taichi broke from his trance. He paid the roses and left motioning goodbye to the other guy.

He, then, entered Sora's room cautiously, in his tiptoes, and placed the roses by her side on the bed. He stared at her. Her pale skin contrasting with her rose faces just the same colour as the flowers by her side. He motioned to touch her but she moved and he regretted had even thinking about it. Her hair was so beautiful shining with the soft light that came from the window.

----End Of Flashback----

He sighed as he thought of her once more. He hoped that at least she wouldn't be angry with him because of the flowers. He just wanted a chance. A chance to prove her he would never do anything voluntarily to hurt her, because he loved her too much.

He took a deep breath and entered Sora's bedroom. She was awake and was holding the bouquet of a dozen red roses in her hands.

Sora looked at him. He looked at her. There was only silence as none of the two was capable of a single word.

* * *

_Hi everyone!_

_Sorry for the long delay. I had to put my computer to fix and after that, I hadn't had time to publish this chappie. Anyway hope you've liked, don't forget to review and for those who have been reviewing, thanks and keep up the good work._

_Ja ne, minna..._


	10. Chapter 10

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Tenth Chapter

Hikari slowly opened her eyes as the morning sun tried to make his way through the clouds that covered the skies, blackening the way. The rain still dropped, just like the night before leaving wet traces in her window as they fell through it. She yawned and stretched her arms in a catlike manner. Like she always did by the morning she glanced to her side, hoping to see the blond locks of her fiancée lying besides her, but this time they weren't there.

She was quite for a while, but then she managed to gain control over herself again. She looked around the room trying to figure where her soon to be husband had gone, but the blond man was nowhere to be seen. She decided to stand up and with bare feet she walked into the kitchen. There was a strange smell in the air. As she entered the hallway the smell got more and more clear. It smelled like pancakes. She stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Her hair fell to her shoulders in small light brown threads. Her auburn eyes closed as she allowed herself to take a deep breath and inhaled the fantastic smell that spread through the soft atmosphere of her house. She stepped towards the kitchen starting to regret her quickness and her impatience for not bringing her slippers now that the cold tile entered in contact with her naked feet.

She peeked into the kitchen and saw a young man with a baby blue apron and a pan in his hands turning in the air what it seemed to be her favourite breakfast, vanilla pancakes with chocolate nuggets. She entered in the kitchen but Takeru didn't notice her presence so concentrated he was on his job of turning pancakes.

The brown haired girl approached her boyfriend. She let him put down the pan in the stove again, preventing any kind of domestic accident that scaring him with a hot pan in his hands might cause. Then she stuck her hands in front of his eyes. Takeru jumped frightened only to receive Hikari's hands, seconds later, with a sweet embrace. He kissed her lips as he turned to meet her eyes. She looked into his blue ocean orbs. No matter how many times she looked into them she still got amazed for its immensity of beauty and how they managed to captivate her attention.

Takeru turned his attention to the pancakes again. "You should be in bed." He stated as he turned off the stove and moved the pancakes to a plate that was previously put there for that same effect. Hikari grabbed him by his waist and leaned her head on his back. He kept working. "I was going to take you your favourite breakfast to bed." He continued. Then he turned to meet her eyes again. "I thought I could compensate you for not being home when you needed me." His eyes pleaded her for forgiveness.

She stared at him for a while. She couldn't believe he was thinking like that. But still she thought that was sweet of him to take her breakfast to bed. She kissed his lips, forgiving him for whatever he thought he had made wrong. He embraced her in his arms and placed his chin over her shoulder looking behind her. He looked down and noticed her bare feet.

Hikari closed her eyes as she just took advantage of the caressing moment. She just let herself be droven by her emotions that began to pound uncontrollably. She felt herself being lifted, as Takeru picked her in his arms and carried her to their bedroom. He placed her in their bed. She kissed his lips, not letting go his neck. She wished for more in that moment. She pushed him to her and Takeru fell on the top of Hikari. She started kissing him. He replied to her kisses as the moment turned from a tenderness moment to a lustful moment.

"Let's make a baby." Hikari replied out of nothing. Takeru eyed her surprised. Never had he thought she would ask him something like that. They would be marrying in just a few weeks, but she wanted to make a baby with him now. That showed how much she loved him and he was glad for that but he didn't feel ready to have children, not before marriage at least. Of course she would give birth after they got marry but still, she would already be carrying the child and he couldn't allow that.

He broke the passion moment and stood. Hikari eyed him surprised, but curious too. She wasn't angry though. She understood that he wanted to wait. "You just stay here." He said as he placed his finger over her mouth pressing it so she lied down again. "I had too much trouble getting your breakfast ready, to just let it get cold." He finished and left to the kitchen.

The brown haired girl smiled as she saw him head off to the kitchen. If he wasn't ready then they would wait. She didn't want to press him. She wanted her baby to be something natural, unexpected like all babies should be. She too was a little afraid, but she wanted the experience. She longed for the day she would carry a little child inside her. She wanted to know how it felt. She wasn't afraid of giving birth though. She thought of it as an enrichment experience. A life experience that every women should go through. But more than that, she wanted to hold the baby in her hands, feel his skin touching hers, watched him as he smiled, breastfeeding him with Takeru by her side.

Taichi stared into her beautiful crimson orbs. There weren't many times that he had the opportunity to do it, since she normally would turn her gaze, but not this time. She too was staring at his chocolate brown eyes, lost in their deepness, trying to figure if the eyes could really be the mirror to the soul. There were no words exchanged between them as they only were able to stare at each other. Words were lost in the deepest corner of their worlds that in that moment seemed to have become one.

He looked for the passion she had once shown to him. He looked for the hope he thought it was not lost, not yet. He looked for a chance of her to be his, because that was the only reason that kept him moving right now, that was the reason that had brought him there, to that room. As he stared in her eyes and she kept looking he could see that hint of what he was looking for. He could see this was nevertheless a girl and she wasn't cold as some might thought she was. In that moment she was just a woman that had received a great happiness and he had been the one to give it to her and he was happy for that.

Sora stared into his eyes and she immediately felt her heart sank in the chocolate brown eyes that seemed to read her to her soul. She didn't care about anything that had happened or what that could happen in the future. Right now, it was the present that mattered and the present was right in front of her, giving her an opportunity to be happy again, to live and scream again. But questions of insecurity kept her from throwing herself into his arms telling him that she wanted him, that she needed him. Questions that she couldn't ignore. Yes, she wanted him to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was okay. But she also was afraid to be hurt again, because the pass was not forgotten yet.

Time lost its importance in that moment, as it seemed to slow down or rush by, leaving their unspoken words stuck in their dry throats. Sora was the one who tried to speak first. Her voice came in a whisper that even she could barely hear. She cleared her throat and repeated the words that she thought she would never say to a man again. "I…I…wanted to thank you for…saving me and, for the flowers too." She replied. She immediately felt her blood boil trying to reach her pale cold cheeks, but she remained calm and her blood remained under the point of ebullition.

Taichi heard her speak, but it still looked like a dream. Every word she spoke was like a sweet breeze washing away his doubts. Her soft but yet clear voice echoed in his mind with the words thank you. He wanted to speak but amazingly he couldn't as all he could think in the moment was her eyes that kept his mind completely filled. They were simply beautiful. He couldn't quite describe the feeling he had as her eyes just seemed to get into him and cross his heart like two flaming arrows.

She watched him as he just kept staring at her. In a normal occasion she would be cursing him for even dare looking at her like that, but that wasn't the occasion. At that moment she wanted him to look at her like that. A part of her wanted him to stare like any men do before a beautiful lady that they like. But the other tried to keep those thoughts away from her troubled mind.

He motioned to open his mouth several times but his guts seemed to have stayed outside that room or even immigrated. "Taichi, I…" she wanted to break that silence. She wanted him to say something, just a word any word because the silence was really unbearable.

"Don't." he replied suddenly. It was his turn to talk. "I…I'm glad you liked the roses." he said nervously as he took a step forward. "Koushiro told me they were your favourite." He suddenly walked faster and sat by her side. He held her hand. In an instinctive way she would have retrieve it, but she controlled herself. She could feel now her blood going uncontrolled into ebullition as she shivered. "I don't know **anything** about your past; in fact, I think no one really knows, but… just give me a chance, to prove you… I would **never, ever**, Sora, **hurt you** consciously. **Please**, don't push me away like that." He pleaded in a hurried nervous speech.

Sora remained silently for a while. Her heart wanted to say yes, she would give him a chance, but her body still felt the pain and suffering that men had brought her. But she also recalled Daisuke and Koushiro. They were her friends, no matter what they never hurt her. _I want to love again._ she thought to herself.

"I… doctors allowed me to go home today." She said in one single and fast sentence releasing her hand. She could feel the blood burning in her cheeks. "Would you… I mean… don't you mind to help carrying my stuff?" she asked raising her eyes to met his that immediately brightened, like a flash of light had just came through them.

Later that day, in the evening, Mimi and Yamato sat in a fancy restaurant. Mimi wore a long backless soft pink dress that tied behind her neck. She had also a scarf from the same tone of pink that was over her shoulders covering her back. Her hair was loose with two threads in the front, and a small hook in form of butterfly holding some of her front hair in the back.

Yamato wore a simple pair of ceremonial pants and a white chemise unbuttoned in the top. His blond hair was nicely combed with the straight to the right side. His hands trembled nervously under the table as he held a black velvet box. He had promise himself he would ask her that night, but as the dinner went calmly by he just got more and more nervous about the decision he was making but above it, about what Mimi would say to him.

Mimi thought wasn't taking that much attention to her boyfriend's actions. He even dropped his wine glass that fortunately only flooded his plate not falling to his pants or even the towel. She was too much into her own thought to think about whatever the father of her child could be going through. In that moment she was thinking in the child that she carried inside her. She didn't feel ready to have children. She had plans. She would first get a decent job in her own psychological cabinet and then she would be engaged and then she would marry. Only some years after the marriage would she **think** about having children. After all she was only twenty four and she had still many years to think about children.

She distraughtly got her glass and drank just one more bit of her red whine. She picked her silverwares and turned the food in her plate like she was expecting to see a better side of it, but in fact she was only trying to see the better side of her own situation that in that moment didn't seem to exist. She picked a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. She chewed, not even caring what she was eating. She didn't taste the food at all. She was simply eating it. More she thought of it more irritated she got. How could she even have thought about having sex in her office was one of the first questions in her mind. If someone had entered it would be a very unpleasant situation, but then again, no one could really enter since she had locked the door. She sighed.

Yamato watched as Mimi turned the food in her plate and his thoughts rushed immediately to what she was thinking that he was sure it would be the same that he was thinking. That baby was just a very big mistake, but it was their mistake and they would have to hang with the consequences of it. He put down the fork and the knife in his plate. His hunger had amazingly decreased the last few days. _Before the dessert._ he thought to himself. _I'll ask her before the dessert._

The waitress came within a second after Mimi too put down her silverwares. He picked the dirty plates as another servant came with the dessert carts. Mimi picked one as the other was gently gave it to Yamato. He put down his cart as he just watched Mimi one last time before he asked the most important question of his life. There she was, beautiful as ever, her brown light hair hanging pretty to her shoulders, dressing like a real princess. He was sure he loved her and that was the only thing that mattered to him.

He picked the velvet box from his pocket and cleared his throat catching Mimi's attention. She peeked from above the cart and he slowly put down the cart. She watched his moves curiously. He put his hand over hers while he held the box in the other. He eyed her as he prepared for the reveal moment.

"I… I've known you for some time now, and though we've been dating for only a year, not quite, but right now, I'm sure you're the woman I want in my life. Would you marry me, Tachikawa, Mimi?"

Night fell quickly over Hikari's and Takeru's house. She sat at her computer tipping away, furious that she still had to work, but at least this time she was making some interesting work. As she heard her CD from Nickelback, she could feel the words just flashing in her mind as her fingers travelled fast through the keys of her laptop. She yawned as the tiredness of being glued to the computer's screen almost all afternoon, with only some breaks for water cups, took over her body.

She glanced at the watch of her computer and sighed. She feared that once again Takeru had been stuck with another autopsy of somebody's death body and once again wouldn't be able to come for dinner. She turned her gaze to the computer screen again and started typing the end of her first article. She was so sure that was the opportunity to become a first hand reporter, and end up with the photographer job that wasn't as gratifying as having her name under a piece of work like that. Well, it had been tough, she had witness some nasty things but then again she had seen many nasty things through her life. Seeing a friend being beat up was the hardest, but it had been worth having that much troubles to have in the end an article that could possibly be her first scoop.

She typed the last sentence and sighed in relief. Now the only thing that was missing was taking that to the newspaper graphic. She smiled to herself as she printed the work and copied it to a disk that she put inside a case that she would take to the newspaper. She had already talked to her boss and he had told her that if it were as good as he thought it would be, since we're talking about Hikari, she would have it as main title in the first page. After all, she had witness the happenings in first hand, thing that no other journalist could be proud off. Besides, Hiroshi and Kenshi were two major wanted from the police and the newspapers were dying to get something on them, and now, she had it.

The night had suddenly become quite as the rain stopped falling. After all it was December now and soon the snow would be spreading her whiteness through all Kyoto. Hikari loved the snow. She remembered the first snowman she had made. It was hers and Takeru's first snowman and it had become in her memory one of the happiest days of her life.

Hikari stood from her chair, after turning off the computer, and decided to make dinner. She put some frozen pizza in the microwave and waited for it to be ready. As she waited, the brown haired girl lied on the couch and flipped through the channels trying to find something interesting to see. It was almost half past eight and the news was on. She increased the sound as she acknowledged something important was being talked about.

In the television screen could be seen a familiar set for reporters like her. The police tried to keep the photographers away from the scene, as the ambulance picked the victim. It was death, since they took it in a bag. One of the reporters on set was trying to get some information about what had happened. Finally the camera managed to get a clear picture of the set. There was a large pool of dry blood on the floor accompanied by the usual police marks of the body. Then the camera suddenly turned to the high building that was by their side.

"It appears that the girl jumped from one of the floors of this building. It all points to suicide but the local authorities are still investigating the case." The reporter from news said. Then the beeping sound of the microwave was heard disturbing Hikari from her thoughts. She raised and went to turn it off and redrew the pizza from within it. Meanwhile the news had passed to another discover in the medicine area. It was a boring investigation about the effects of sleeping in people's weight.

Hikari picked a board were she put the pizza already cut in several slices. She watched as some scientists in white rob talked about how sleeping more than eight hours a day helped decreasing weight. The brown haired flipped through the channels again reaching MTV. "Yeah, right!" she mumbled as she put a slice of pizza in her mouth. She couldn't believe how some scientists wasted their time studying that kind of stuff when there were incurable diseases to find a cure for.

She ate another slice as she flipped through the channels again. There was really nothing interesting in the television so she just turned it off and went to the kitchen's table where she ate feeling very lonely. Her thoughts suddenly raced to her brother. She hadn't seen him since that morning in the hospital. She wondered how things were going with the stubborn yet kind Sora. Yamato had told Takeru that had told her that Taichi had saved Sora and she was going to be okay. Hikari counted that the fact that her brother had saved Sora would contribute to an improvement in the girl's relationship with him.

The door suddenly opened and a very tired Takeru entered the house. He put his keys in the piece of furniture next to the entering hall and walked towards the kitchen. "Hikari, I'm home." He called. She kept eating her pizza as she waited for him to come into the kitchen.

Takeru stopped by the bathroom where he put his shoes and in their room where he put his raincoat. He looked around trying to find his beloved fiancée. He then walked into the kitchen to see her quietly eating another slice of pizza. He walked towards her and wrapped her in his arms kissing her cheek.

Hikari put down the slice of pizza and turned to meet his lips. Takeru then sat in a chair near her and took a slice of pizza to himself. They both were quite, both lost in their own thoughts. Takeru was thinking of Hikari's sudden will to have a baby. Today's events weren't much into her advantage as Takeru had to go and make the autopsy of a sixteen years old girl that had thrown herself from the eighth floor of the building she lived. It wasn't his vision of her body's damages or the blood around the place where she had been found. As a forensic doctor he had learned to abstract himself of those sorts of things. He had seen shot cadavers, decapitated cadavers, mutilated, burned, and chopped in pieces; once he had even discovered the identity of a person with only his leg. They would eventually haunt him in his worst nightmares, but those people had been murdered. They probably didn't want to die. He couldn't figure what someone could have against its own life to just give up the hope on it.

The blond let out a sigh that was heard by his fiancée. She was a little taken back because of that morning's happenings. She hoped Takeru wasn't worried about her will to have a baby. She would wait for him to be ready, she knew him too well to ever even think that he didn't want children. She knew he wanted them, but she also knew that they were young, only twenty two, and they had many years in front of them.

She placed a protective arm over his shoulders. The blond looked into her eyes. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him concerned. He shook his head and smiled. "Work stuff. Don't want to bore you with that." He replied. Hikari, though, seemed offended by the statement. She took her arm and crossed them both over her chest. "Takashi, Takeru, your job doesn't bore me. Besides we're suppose to share everything." She complained as she stood up and walked away.

Takeru followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Forgive me. That's not what I meant, Hikari." He replied as he led her to the couch where they both lied. "Something happened today that… well, it made me think about life, you know?" he explained. Hikari gazed into his blue ocean eyes. She sat cross legged in front of him. She extended her legs and motioned him to lie between her legs. Takeru placed his head over her abdominals and stared at the ceiling. The brown haired girl passed her fingers through his hair as he told her what was bothering him.

"A girl committed suicide today." He told her. "I know, it was on the news." Hikari calmly notice. "Well, I was there watching her and…" he paused trying to find the right words to explain what he was feeling. "… I guess, it kind of made me wonder about life. I don't get it why would someone kill himself." Hikari grabbed his hands that lied on the top of his chest and started playing with them. "I think… if people really feel desperate, you know, without any other choice to solve their problems, they might think about committing suicide." She replied.

Takeru was quite for a little and then he spoke again. This time he raised from her lap and still holding hands with her he told her what was really bothering him. "And what crept me out the most was the face of that girl's parents." Hikari watched as his eyes turned to a dark worried blue. "The face of completely ignorance. They were in complete shock before theirs daughter's actions … and I can't stop thinking… what if it was our child?"

Taichi parked his dark blue Subaru in front of the building he already knew so well. He helped the incapacitated Sora out of the car opening the door. Fortunately it had stopped raining. She smiled a little uncomfortable before this all new experience. She trembled slightly as a cold breeze suddenly burst through the air. It was a rather cold night in fact. There were many clouds up in the sky, but now and then they would let the moon make a small appearance.

Sora stared at it for a while as Taichi walked to the backseat to take her only case. A small black trolley that was indeed very light. He gazed into her. It was as if the dark shine of the moon could make her even more mysterious, but in the other hand more interesting. The way it shone on her, otherwise, darkened features, illuminating her face, shining on her pretty hair and flashing on her eyes, it was simply beautiful because that was the word that, even if not fully, could describe her best in that moment. But after all he was deeply in love with her, it was only normal he would see her like that, or perhaps the dark moon really made her mysteries even more attractive.

She walked to the opened door of the old building and both started walking upstairs to the eighth floor where Sora lived. There were no sound besides their steps that echoed through the apparently abandoned building. There were graffiti on the walls. Besides that they could also hear some faint sounds of televisions in some of the floors and in one of them they also heard the sound of a woman shouting pretty loud to her son.

They finally reached the eighth floor. Sora took her keys from the jeans she was wearing that Koushiro had had the kindness of picking up for her at her house during her short stay in the hospital. It was an old pair of dark blue jeans that even had a hole next to the right knee, but she liked them anyways. In fact, they were one of her favourites.

She pulled the keys and inserted them on the lock. A crack was heard as she turned the keys in the lock and pushed the holder in a simultaneous movement. The door opened. She smelled the air of her home as she entered. Everything was like she had left it the day before she got caught by Hiroshi. Taichi followed her footsteps still in complete silence. She was happy to be home. There weren't many times that she got so happy for actually being in the place she called home.

Taichi closed the door behind him and put down the trolley case. Sora turned to meet his gaze and in a few seconds everything was silent. That was her house but she thought she was feeling more uncomfortable that if they were actually in Taichi's house. She smiled disturbed as she searched in the deep corners of her mind what she should say or do. A flash of the last time and unique time Taichi had been in her house flashed through her head and along with it the first kiss they had shared.

That kiss had changed so many things. It had brought to her life a hurricane that had messed up everything. It had brought to her, her past again. She had awful dreams about it, but that kiss had made her think about things that she had taken as granted in the past and that she was now doubting, like her promise to never fall in love again. She now kind of wondered how she had even thought of making such a ridiculous promise. She more than anyone else should know that we cannot control our heart or our feelings towards someone.

The words suddenly came out of her mouth like she was planning them for a long time. "Would you like to drink or eat something?" she asked, a blush creeping up to her cheeks. Taichi too felt something like a sudden burst of blood flooding to his cheeks. "Yeah. Beer please." He asked automatically. He knew that was the one thing Sora always had in her house. She wasn't an alcoholic but that was especially because she had high tolerance to alcohol without getting drunk.

Sora rushed into the kitchen and took two canes of beer from the fridge that happened to be the last ones she had. She opened them and went to the living room again where Taichi had taken the license of seating in the couch already. "I hope you don't mind." He replied excusing himself for his bad manners. She shook her head relieving any questions he might have about her own manners.

They sat side by side, since Sora only had one couch directly in front of the television that was now on and passing some kind of movie that none of them was interested in watch. They just sat there sipping in their beers. Then Sora suddenly noticed she was without her gloves. She had kind of forgotten about the issue but somehow she didn't felt comfortable anymore without her gloves.

She stood up and walked towards her room. Taichi, though, didn't stop her thinking she was going to the bathroom or something. So he just kept drinking his beer and watching without any interest the movie. In fact, though his eyes were staring at the television, his mind was far from there. He drifted in a middle sleep into his thoughts.

Sora came back a couple of minutes later with her gloves on. She took her beer again and watched Taichi for a second. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts. A part of her wanted furiously to know what he was thinking but the other part of her wanted to say something though she didn't know what. Along all this years she had kind of lost her touch what it had to do with guys, mainly when she was having a crush on them, a thing that she thought it would never happen again. As she thought of it, another flash came to her mind. A flash of a painful pass that was threatening to take over her life again.

Taichi broke out of his trance like state as he noted the crimson eyed presence by his side. He looked at her as she too seemed to be in a trance. He thought for a while about the best action to take but he couldn't really figure one as he was standing before an unpredictable person like Sora. He suddenly realised her hands were covered again and his movements came instinctually just like hers. As he touched, even if so slightly, her hands, she took them and stared at him with a hurt frightened face. He watched her surprised and puzzled.

Sora realised then that it was Taichi that was with her, the man that had promise her never to hurt her and she believe him. She really wanted to believe him, because in a way she needed to believe him. She was just so tired of being alone, of having horrible nightmares about a past that she wished she could forget. She looked at him. His eyes didn't show anger towards her actions as she thought they would, only surprise. She was glad for that.

"I'm sorry… I was… thinking and you frightened me." She replied in a mumble, but only after she noticed that Taichi's eyes weren't fixed in her face, but in her hands as he took them in his again. He moved his fingers to her right wrist and unglued the two parts that pressed the gloves in the wrists. He then removed them as an astonished Sora just watched. She knew he would eventually do something like that. She also knew what was coming next.

"I think I own you an explanation, isn't it?" she stated with a sigh. "You did save my life." Taichi watched her. "You don't have to explain me anything unless you want to… and you saved my life too, so we're even. You don't own me nothing." He smiled. Sora opened her mouth to speak but before she could say a word, Taichi continued. "I just… don't cover your hands when you're with me. They are so… beautiful." He picked her hand and raised it. Sora felt the soft skin of his lips touching her hand as he bent down to kiss it.

There he was, with her in her house, completely alone and still… he wasn't trying anything but to make her comfortable, to make her smile. He could demand her to explain, but still… he remained in silence waiting that she was ready to tell him when she was ready. She was seeing him, she was hearing and touching him but she still couldn't believe he was for real. She thought if she was just falling into another trap. But she couldn't be. Deep down she knew this man could be trusted. She was no longer an impulsive young and crazy in need of care teenager. She was a woman now and she had learned with her mistakes. Her senses had become more selected and she was no longer a foolish girl that would let herself fall into the arms of the first Romeo that appeared.

She thought about the issue. Should she tell him about the origin of her scars? Was she ready? That was a question she would never be able to answer. In her opinion she would never be ready, but right now, she thought it was a moment just as good as any other would be. She was on the topic and she wanted to tell him. It was her first step into the path of trust someone again. She trusted Daisuke and Koushiro because she knew them since she was a little kid, but Taichi…he was different. She trusted him because his eyes showed nothing but truth, confidence, and courage.

"I'm ready to tell you. After all, this moment would be as good as any other, right?" she joked letting out a small chuckle. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself to tell him the story of her life. He too prepared himself to hear her story that he knew somehow wouldn't be pretty and though he too had passed through some rough times he could see that the pain that had caused this girl that was so sweet and lovely sitting besides him to turn into such a cold hearted as the Sora he used to know and that is the true Sora to most people that know her.

"Well… I think it all started before I was born. I really can't tell because I don't really know." She started as she stared at the ceiling. The television was still on, but the only sound that Taichi could hear now was the voice of the brown haired girl sitting by his side. "My mother died giving birth to me here in Kyoto. It is funny that I was actually born here. I was a premature with only seven months and so I had to stay here in the hospital. They didn't know where the rest of my family was because my mother had arrived here alone and died before she could tell them anything useful. They really only knew her name and mine because she had written it in a paper that was on her wallet." She sighed. She could still remember the only photo she had been able to keep from her mother where she smiled. A tear rolled down her face.

"When I was able to get out of the hospital I went to an orphan centre, where I stayed until I was two years and half. By then they had found my father in Odaiba." She stopped, cursing the fact they had found him. She wished several times that she could have stayed in that centre. Taichi heard everything in silence. He had an urge to grab her and embrace her, telling her that everything was okay now because he was there and that was in the past. He knew how she felt about her mother. He missed his mother too and he had lived with her for sixteen years.

"I can't remember the beginning of my life there, but I can't imagine how I make it through. I kind of think that Daisuke's mother was my secret saviour. Daisuke and I met when I went to Odaiba. He was my next door neighbour and I spent much of my time in his house. Then Koushiro moved next door too and we became a trio. We were always together. Though my father was already a drunk by then I really didn't mind because he usually only shouted with me. I had learned to live by myself. I made my own food, I studied by myself and went to play with my friends when I wanted too. My father didn't really care when I was at home or out. But that was only until I made eleven." She paused again. "By then, my father outburst became more dangerous and now and then he would hit me." Her voice cracked and Taichi grabbed her hand for emotional support.

"One day, when I went home he just started throwing things at me. That was when I got the scars on my back. I wanted to run away but I couldn't. I would just spend the less time I could at my house. I would spent much of my time with Dai and Koushiro." A smile crossed her face thinking about the only happy time she had spent in Odaiba with her dearest friends in the world.

"Well, I was getting used to be beaten up. In my graduation day, when I had already turned eighteen, I… I was so happy that day. I can perfectly remember. Daisuke's mom and dad and Koushiro's parents were at the graduation. I wished my mother would have been there too, but I kind of thought that wherever she was she was seeing me so I was happy. Though no one of my family was there, I had kisses, photos and congratulations from Dai's and Koushiro's parents. Dai's mostly threatened me like their own daughter. Later that day, when I arrived at my house I was still happy. I stepped into my room without even caring about my father that was, as usual, drinking in the couch." Her voice cracked again. There were no tears falling from her eyes. She then raised her head. Taichi expected to see a great amount of pain but there wasn't that wasn't just what he saw. He saw pure hatred. A hate that he thought he could never see in her eyes.

Sora took her other glove and threw it to the ground. She raised her hands and showed them to Taichi with a hurt look. "These are the marks I got… because I was happy." She smiled faintly. Taichi was shocked. How could someone be punished for being happy? "He said I didn't deserve to be happy and he wanted me to die like my mother. I was just a worthless bitch and he didn't care a shit about me." She couldn't control her tears. She had promise herself she wouldn't cry anymore but that was just another of her promises that she knew it was foolish to have made.

At the time she didn't even think about the possibility of telling Taichi the other sword over her heart. She just allowed him to wrap her in his arms and stayed in his warm embrace sobbing quietly. "The next day I packed my stuff and ran away. I phoned Dai and Koushiro on the way and they arranged things to come study to Kyoto too. That's how I became this dark cold person that I am now." She finished.

Taichi just kept holding her, hoping his warmness and love could wash away her tears and heal her wounds. "That is a lie." He said quietly. For moments, Sora thought he was calling her a lier. "You're not worthless. You are the most amazing person I've met." He was glad that she had told him her story. At least now he knew why she was how she was and what she had been through. He just never thought someone could actually survive something like that.

The light of the lamp in the living room was turned off as Taichi felt Sora sleeping in his arms and he allowed himself to fall asleep as well.

What they didn't know was that eight floors under them, in the cold streets were the clouds started to accumulate and turn into a soft snowy grey, a man watched every movement they made inside the house. He patted his foot on the hard ground as a cloud of vapour came out from his mouth. He brushed his hands against each other in an attempt to keep himself warm. The coat he was wearing covered him to his feet but it still wasn't warm enough for the cold night that had established. An evil spread across his darkened face as he walked away.

* * *

_Yay, another chapter. Sora's half past revealed. Hope you've liked it. Don't forget to use the review botton._

_Sayonara..._


	11. Chapter 11

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Eleventh Chapter

Hikari stared wide eyed at Takeru. There he was: the all mighty forensic doctor, and he was afraid that a child of his might think about suicide. But that wasn't the thing that was really worrying Hikari. She was slightly shocked with the thoughts of her soon to be husband. If she didn't know him well, she would say he was getting an excuse for not having children, but she knew him better than that. That wasn't her Takeru. Maybe she had just freaked him out with the story of the baby.

She sighed and wrapped him in her arms like a little child that had just been beaten up by the bad guys from the school. He let himself be driven to her warm embrace. After all who wouldn't want to be in such a lovely and warm place like Hikari's arms? He knew a child would be very happy in her arms and he could just imagine her as a devoted mother breastfeeding to a little inoffensive and innocent child.

"I'm sorry Takeru." Hikari started. Takeru was a little taken back since he wasn't quite sure of what she was talking about, so he just allowed her to continue so he could figure the theme of the conversation. "I knew I shouldn't have forced you to it… I can wait. After all we're still young and have many years ahead of us, many years to start a family. I knew I shouldn't have rushed you. I'm not ready either, please don't be sad." She apologized in a soft warm appeal.

Takeru frowned. She couldn't be thinking that he didn't want children or that he would ever possibly be angry with her for suggesting starting a family? But then again, he had been a little harsh; maybe she had understood it the wrong way. "Hikari, is nothing like that… I want a family with you." He kissed her lips, and held her head between his hands making her look right into his eyes. "I really want… I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I was just shocked that's all."

She was speechless. She should have known that he wouldn't be that way because of her proposal. After all, he had wished so many times to have a family of his own, a family that would be more united than his. She still remembered his rough past. She should have known him better then that. She apologized him in her own way, kissing him in a passionate way that only she knew how to awake in him.

She remembered. Her mother was still alive when it all happened. Takeru and she were about six and Taichi and Yamato were about nine. Takeru and Yamato came lots of times to play with her and her brother when they were little. They were the inseparable four, always together, but then Takeru's parents started having fights and one day Takeru was gone with his mother. Hikari had been inconsolable along with Yamato that had passed the night with the Yagami family. The weeks that followed were dark. Yamato spent all his time with the Yagami's, since his father had gone to meet his mother to talk her into giving Takeru back. Eventually she agreed. Yamato and Takeru were hers in the summer vacation and in the Easter. But that was better than separating the two siblings.

They lied there still involved in the lustful atmosphere that had taken over them. Hikari was under Takeru's body and he pressed himself on her as he kissed her passionately in her mouth and then going down to her neck. She moaned in pleasure as he placed small kisses over her neck, tickling her. He had never showed himself as lustful as he was being now. In a way that scared her, but on the other hand she too was acting a little wild, allowing herself to be driven by ancient instincts.

Mimi stared wide eyed at her boyfriend. She blinked once and then again, and only after a third time, the brown haired psychologist had the dignity to close her mouth that was just like her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her whole world had been tuned upside down in less than five seconds just because of a little question that echoed in her troubled mind. Her heart had speeded to the maximum, draining all her energy, and stopping. And though it only stopped for the few seconds that it usually stops, for her was like the time had passed to slow motion as the words came out from Yamato's mouth. She could swear that if she was drinking she would have spilled all the wine in his face.

He too was taken back, but not for his question of course because he was very sure he had done it. The fact was that he was shocked with Mimi's reaction. Normally he would have thought that she would let out a small happy scream and then throw herself into his arms announcing to the world she was the happiest woman in the world. But still, there she was, and the only thing she had managed to do the last couple of minutes was staring at him wide eyed. In fact it took her a whole minute to realise she was doing a fool of herself hanging her chin like that and after she had finally hidden her teeth and tongue she had only be quite. She almost looked hypnotise.

Yamato cleared his throat and Mimi broke out of her trance. Her hands travelled to her throat and she bit her lip nervously. Now it was his time to be wide eyed as he watched her with a puppy like look, pleading for an answer as his hand still hung over the table with the velvet box in it and in the velvet box, the small but amazingly beautiful ring. It was quite simple in fact. At a first look it would look like two rings but in fact it was only one, which was made of two different leagues curled in each other, and over the entire ring that was sapphire powder that made it shine with the thinnest light.

His heart started beating uncontrollably as he waited for her answer. He had never asked a girl to marry him but a no would certainly affect his future life. Mimi stared at Yamato unable to say a word. She knew what her mind told her to say. _Say yes, Mimi. You know you must say yes. _But her heart… she wasn't quite sure if this was what her heart desired. Sure she loved him right now, but what about the next year, or in ten years. She didn't know if she was going to love him forever. But still… she was caring his child. She shouldn't forget that the marriage would be the best for the unborn child inside her. A stable family. A happy home.

"Yes." The words came like a soft whisper that was not audible to Mimi herself. She closed her eyes and assured herself this was the right decision to make. When she opened them again she looked at Yamato's amazing ocean blue eyes and assured herself that was the man she wanted for the rest of her life. She cleared her throat and the word that the man was waiting came out with an astonished confidence. She didn't tremble when she said it and she felt in fact like she had been carrying a heavy weight that had just been washed away.

The blonde's lips formed a smile that was directly pointed at her. He stood up and knelt in front of her. He took the ring from its fluffy secure velvet box. Mimi extended her hand and allowed Yamato to slip the ring through her finger. It was in fact a beautiful ring. Not too corny, not too shining, not too low, just simple, just perfect. They shared a deep kiss and the other customers that had in the meantime watched the scene between the two lovers, now fiancées, applauded audibly, some giving loud whistles.

The rain had finally stopped to give time for the snow to take her turn. Now, small beautiful and fragile snowflakes fell to the ground covering everything with its white cloak. Sora looked outside the window of her car. She sighed, the weather making her melancholic, but at least it wasn't raining. She liked rain a lot but it also made her melancholic, more than snow that symbolized pureness and innocence for her.

Her shoulder had improved, but she still had to be careful with it. Not holding heavy weights or making sudden moves were the recommendations of the doctor, that, though Sora wasn't quite used to follow, she was obliged to, because Taichi would go to her house everyday to check on her. She still couldn't work. Doctor's orders as well. He had said that knowing Sora she wouldn't be careful and would probably fall in some of her mad chases and damaged her shoulder again.

She pulled by the cafeteria were the cops usually hang out, Miyako's cafeteria. She glanced over to the back seat where the shops she had made lay spread on the seat. Mostly food, some canes of beer and other girls' health stuff. She believed that no one would think about robbing her car because of food, especially being right in front of the cafeteria.

A snowflake fell to her hair as she stepped out of the car. She tightened her grip on her long black coat that covered her from head to feet and put her hood over her head, covering it from the snow that was starting to fall harder. She glanced over to the sky and watched as a million snowflakes made their ways down with the grace of a ballet dancer.

She entered the cafeteria were some other cops were talking at the tables. Shaking the snow off her coat she looked around and spotted Taichi, Yamato and Koushiro at one table in the corner of the room. She paced calmly towards them and sat besides Taichi. She shook hands with them, with her usual gloves on. She hadn't told the others about her past yet. She had made Taichi promise he wouldn't say a word either. She wanted to tell them when she was ready to and Taichi agreed with her decision, he, in fact, thought it was a wise decision, since it wasn't him that should tell them.

Miyako immediately came to note their orders. She wore her usual uniform when she was working. Her eyes though showed something different from the last time she had saw her. She was happier; her eyes had a shine that they hadn't in before. She glanced to the counter and there he was. The man that had caused one of her gender so much suffering, but he too, seemed different. His face was normally dark and his eyes usually saw nothing besides the tiles of the floor as he stepped because his head was usually down in embarrassment for things he had done.

As the purple headed girl approached, Sora couldn't help to ask what was going on. Miyako smiled wide, as Sora had never seen her smile. Her hands flashed from her notebook to her belly and Sora along with the guys immediately acknowledged what had happened. "I'm four months pregnant." She informed with a hint of proud in her voice. Taichi and Koushiro immediately congratulated her. Sora just smiled, a not too happy smile but a true smile. Though she didn't think much about children because she also wasn't expecting to ever get marry or have a boyfriend again, she respected who wanted children so badly, and deep inside she too loved children. Maybe she was just too afraid that somehow they would go through the same things she went.

Yamato, though, had some different problems with this pregnancy issue. He still was in doubt about the decision he had made in marry Mimi, but their wedding was already dated and there wasn't much he could do now. Nevertheless he too congratulated her after a small break.

Sora asked her coffee and the guys returned to their talk about a new wave of crimes that had been threatening Kyoto lately and though the subject was of Sora's interest she quickly drifted away as she glanced over the window to the snow falling outside. The top of her car along with the windshield were already filled with that dirty white flood like. Her thoughts travelled in a retrospective way to some days before, when she had listened to that voice. The voice she had wished she would never hear again, that she desired to die and never come back, but still there it was in her call recorder, very present, very **alive**.

----Flashback----

Sora accompanied Taichi to the door and allowed him a small kiss in the cheek for goodbye. She had barely time to try hiding when she started blushing when he too gave her a kiss. Taichi too felt the blood rushing to his cheeks dirtying them with red colour.

She sighed as she heard his footsteps walking away. She leaned against the closed door and smacked her head against the door. _Stupid, stupid._ She told mentally to herself as she recalled the events of the night before. She still couldn't believe that after all that time hiding her pass she had in one weakness moment spilled everything to a man, that for worst, she thought she was falling in love with.

She walked over to the kitchen and served herself a cold cup of orange juice. She went to the living room again and just as she passed by her phone she saw a little green light blinking. She went to its side and sat on the couch. She sighed and clicked the button to hear the messages that had been left for her. She was completely sure that must have been Daisuke phoning to hear from her if she truly was okay. As she clicked the button it was heard a small pi and then "Hi, Sor. It's me Dai. Please phone me as soon as you can. Koushiro said you were okay but I must hear your voice to believe it. Anyway I told you you shouldn't go mess with that type of people, but no… you are just too damn…" another pi was heard. "Small messages, huh. Anyway as I was saying you're just too damn stubborn to listen. Call me okay?"

Sora grinned hearing Daisuke's message. She knew him better then himself sometimes. She was about to leave when the recorder made another pi and another message started. She was up but as the voice started talking she collapsed to the couch again. Her breath stuck in her throat, her heart stopped, her blood froze on her veins and her face paled in complete panic.

"Hi Sor, babe. It's me. I hope you've been well through this… what… eight years? I'll phone you later. Ciao baby."

----End Of Flashback----

She hadn't heard any news about him since their sudden break up. She was afraid she might have to see him around at school, but for her luck he had moved to Tokyo with his parents for unknown reasons. In a way she thought that he had been planning that a long time ago. She had never heard from him since then for her great happiness, but that morning hearing his voice again… Even after eight years it was still as she recalled, that sensual attractive tone, but now that was something else that she had only acknowledged in that cursed day. His voice was also devilish. If she had never met him before, after that criminal psychology course she had taken, by his tone of voice she would easily recognize him as a disturbed person. It was the kind of voice that a psychopath uses with his victims. She was just sorry that she had never realized that before.

Her gaze continued straight to the street outside. She was no longer hearing what Taichi or the others were saying. She was so deep in thoughts that she didn't even notice that Yamato was announcing his marriage with Mimi. But her deep thoughts didn't keep her from having her eyes wide open as she saw a familiar figure standing in the opposite street from the cafeteria in the alley, half hidden. Her eyes couldn't believe that she was really seeing him. He couldn't possible be following her, or could he?

Her fear increased and her face paled with panic reaching her. Taichi eyed her concerned. Her eyes turning from a warm welcome crimson to a cold fearing blood tone as she eyed something in the streets. He tried to follow her gaze but as he looked he couldn't see anyone or anything for that matter. He placed a hand over her shoulder that made her turn her attention to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She tried to speak and her voice failed her as she spoke in a frightened tone that none of Koushiro or Yamato recognised. "Did you… did you saw someone… out there… in the alley?" she asked turning her gaze to meet his chocolate orbs. He shook his head and a wave of relief spread over Sora's face. _Oh good, it must have been an optic illusion. _She thought. Her friends continued eyeing her until she started conversation again. "What were you saying anyway?" she asked pretending to be very interested. This, because deep inside her, she wasn't so sure about having had an optic illusion.

Mimi sat on her chair turned to the large window behind her desk that she had specified to have pink curtains, but still there were no curtains that could take the beauty of what, for her, was the best season of the year. She just loved winter and what it carried along with it more properly, she loved to watch how the snowflakes, with the most amazing and beautiful shapes, along with the most original, fell and covered the dark Kyoto city with that white cloak.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door that shook her out of her thoughts. It was a young wannabe policeman that was taking psychological exams to apply to the police academy. She motioned him to sit down in the chair in front of her and she started taking her personal notes as the man talked and answered her decorated words that just slipped out of her mouth without her even giving a thought about it. It was just a normal thing for her to do that.

Her hands travelled fast through the paper as the guy spoke, but Mimi's attention, though, was turned inside her and some decisions she had been forced to make. The guy eyed her confused as she suddenly stopped taking notes and simply stared at the white flakes falling outside. He called her a couple of times but Mimi was just too lost in her own world. He stood up and bent over her desk to slightly touch her in the shoulder. Only then she broke from her trance like state. She looked at the boy, she could see the words coming out of his mouth but the truth was that she wasn't hearing anything. Then her own voice failed her and she began feeling dizzy as her vision got blurred.

The poor guy in the office only had time to hold her head before she fell off the chair and collapsed to the floor. He put down her head and called for someone. Mimi's secretary didn't take too long. They laid her on the couch of the office and tried to bring her to her senses. Her secretary then went to her purse and retrieved a very strong perfume. Just as she opened the bottle the guy put a hand over his nose, trying to protect himself from the strong smell.

The girl passed the open bottle in front of Mimi's nose a couple of times before she finally began opening her eyes. The secretary immediately put the bottle away again and turned to her superior. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked in her kind voice a little strident just like Mimi's.

Mimi looked around her as she remembered what had happened. She sat and held her head like she was having a major headache. "Yeah, I guess so." She replied still a little dizzy. Meanwhile, the guy had gone to pick a cup of water that he gave her. He also had gone to call Jyou. The chief arrived quite quickly in fact. He excused the secretary and told the young man to come by another time. He closed the office's door and went to Mimi's side.

He stared into her eyes as she stared into his own. "I'm okay, really." She assured him. Jyou simply shook his head. "You must be under a lot of stress lately because of the baby and Yamato…" he sighed and stood turning his gaze away. Mimi watched him. He could be an elder man, but he still was in perfect shape, in fact no one would say he has over ten years then her.

"Maybe you should take a time out, don't you think?" he turned to meet her gaze again. "I call for another psychologist and you take a little break." He said and prepared himself to leave the office. He turned the holder from the door, but just before he left, he turned to her. "That's an order." He informed her and left with his strong authoritarian pace. Mimi sighed in her couch. She was really under a lot of stress. Maybe vacations wouldn't be that bad.

She stood and picked her pink purse. Then with a sigh and a last look over her desk and then her window, she turned away and left. "Tanaka, cancel all my consults for today." She replied to the secretary. "I'll be away for a week or so." She finished and then walked off.

Yamato stared at Taichi, followed by Koushiro and then again to the subject of his question. "Well, I was kind of wondering if you do me the honour of be my godmother?" he asked a little unsure of what the reply would be. Sora was speechless. Never had she thought that someone might actually ask her something like that. Yamato waited for her answer anxiously, while Taichi and Koushiro watched her reaction.

Sora opened her mouth to speak, but the true was that she didn't know what to say. Well, maybe not quite, she knew she was suppose to say yes, thank you very much, but for more that she would like to say it, she couldn't. How could she possibly be a part of something that she didn't believe in, be a witness of major importance in a marriage? She couldn't, but how to tell Yamato that? She was just starting to be more open with them and she now had a better relationship with both him and Mimi, and she didn't want to ruin that.

She stared right into his eyes as she tried to built the elaborated speech she wanted to make in her mind. "Yama, I… can't." were the only words that she was able to articulate. He sighed as he looked down to the surface of the table. "I knew you would say no." he replied. Sora looked from him to both of the other to guys not knowing what to say.

"You must understand, Yamato, that I couldn't be a part of something that I don't believe." She replied. He shook his hand to her motioning to forget it. "I know, I know, you don't believe in marriage." He looked at her, his blue eyes trying to get another Sora out of the Sora sitting in front of him. "But think like this: it's just something that Mimi and I are going to do, and you're going to sign the papers and be happy for us to do it, like… I don't know…" he thought for a while, until something came to his mind. "Think of it as a graduation party. You're one of the teachers and you have to be there and give us the diplomas." He replied. Koushiro eyed him a little surprised by such comparison and Taichi smirked.

Sora, though, remained in her state. "I don't know… it wouldn't be right to take importance out of your marriage making it sound like that, just because I don't believe in it. Let me think about it, okay?" she asked. Yamato nodded in agreement and the talk quickly turned to something else again, still in the marriage issue, but now it was Hikari's and Takeru's marriage that was two weeks from now. Nevertheless, Sora didn't pay much attention to it, as she thought it wasn't her business, so she simply started looking out the window again.

The time rushed rather quickly in Sora's point of view and it was already time for the boys to go to work. They paid the bill to Miyako that wide smiled at them as she watched them leave, returning then to Ken's side and another passionate kiss from him.

Meanwhile, outside, in the cold day, Sora stood by her car's side, pulling her coat closer to her. Taichi was by her side too and he also pulled his coat closer to him. Koushiro and Yamato said their goodbyes and walked away to Yamato's car. Taichi watched them enter the car and drive away, like he had asked them and turned his attention to Sora. She was trying to keep her hands warm brushing them against one another.

"Do you want me to accompany you home?" he asked sweetly. She smiled. "No, thanks. I would rather go with you, but Jyou is too much into following the doctor's rules." She replied a little upset. Taichi laughed at her statement. She was still the same addicted to work. "Are you sure? You looked upset inside." He held her by her shoulders. Sora remembered the nightmare she thought it was over and turned her gaze to the alley again, that was as empty as she wished it had been by the time she first look at it earlier.

"No, I'm fine." She replied smiling turning to meet his eyes again. "I think I'm going now. My hands are freezing." Taichi watched her. He wanted to kiss her right then, but he knew that would upset her and he didn't want to rush things, so he contained himself. "You know I will be there when you need to talk, okay?" he asked her more in a way to reassure her that he was by her side no matter what. He threw his arms around her and embraced her. Sora allowed him as she too was enjoying his body against her.

She then entered her car, a black Citröen C3 Pluriel and drove off. After she had left, Taichi walked to his car. As he opened the door, he sighed.

A snowflake near the corner of the street were Miyako's cafeteria was placed, fell right into the hair of a man that stood there leaned against the wall watching as a dark Subaru drove away. He smirked mischievously as he picked his camera and took a picture of the car along with its driver. He then quietly placed the machine in a bag that he carried and walked away.

Yamato glared at the lady in the coffee shop's counter as she tried to convince him he had asked for three coffees instead of two, when he knew perfectly that he had only asked two. He was amazed by the old lady's behaviour even in front of a cop. He really considered the idea of putting her during the night in the jail just to teach her lesson, for disrespect for a police officer but he put those thoughts away. That was what Sora would probably do, but then he would have to fill in a lot of paper work and so he simply paid the third coffee and walked away with the other two.

Inside the patrol car, Taichi taped his fingers on the steering wheel of impatience. He watched as Yamato walked to him in a very careful pace not to flow the content of the two cups he carried. He opened him the door with a quick move of his wrist and Yamato finished opening it with his feet. He then sat in his seat and handled Taichi his coffee.

"Man, what took you so long?" Taichi asked slightly irritated. "It was the woman. She was driving me crazy. She stubbornly accused me of asking three coffees when I only asked two. She's crazy, man. Remind me to never come back here again." He complained and took a sip of his coffee. "Huh, and the coffee is bad as well." Taichi said as he opened the car's door and spited the coffee to the street, quickly accompanied by the rest of the coffee. "It's completely burned."

Yamato followed his example by opening the car's door and spit as well the content of his mouth. Just then the car's communicator started transmitting. "Central calls car 1726, come in, car 1726. Over." The man from the other side called. Taichi picked the communicator. "Car 1726 here, what's the situation? Over." "We have a dumped body, coordinates being sent to your GPS. Over." "Okay, we're on our way. Over and out." Taichi replied. He looked at Yamato and grinned. "Seems like we have action finally." He replied.

The blond looked at him with a disgusted look. "Action? You must be kidding. It's a death body." Yamato stated. "Man, you would make a better partner to Sora." He laughed mocking Taichi. The brown haired launched him a deathly look and resumed the conversation as he started driving to the coordinates.

"By the way, you two have been acting closer lately." Yamato playfully hit him in the shoulder. "Do you want to tell me anything?" he asked. Taichi simply ignored his question and continued driving cautiously but fast. The first hours were the most important in case of murder. The proofs are fresh and there are less ways that they might be forgotten or disappear. Besides, the much time it passes, the much time the murder has to run away.

"Oh, c'mon, I know you since you were a little pissing brat." Yamato insisted. "And you and Sora weren't so good friends before you saved her." Taichi continued silent. "What happened? Did you slept with her?" Taichi's cheeks turned red as he thought about sleeping, in the more perverted way, with her. Yamato caught it and he opened his mouth immediately taking the wrong conclusions. "You did. Oh man, that is truly a great advance." He replied. Taichi though couldn't let him think that, because the rumour would spread and eventually would get to Sora's ears and she would be mad as hell since that wasn't truth.

"No, you got it all wrong. I didn't sleep, sleep with her." He cleared the issue. "Then what happened?" Yamato curiosity was taking over him and he only noticed it too late. _Damn, I'm really starting to sound like Mimi. _He alerted himself. "Well…" Taichi started. "I spent the night in her house, but we didn't do anything, not even kissed okay?" he turned to meet Yamato's eyes. The blond nodded in assurance that he had understood the tip. But then a naughty smile spread along his face.

"Not that you didn't want something to happen, right?" he replied. Taichi stared at him, feeling his cheeks growing redder than a tomato. Yamato laughed giving him the I knew it look. The brown haired got slightly irritated. "Oh, stop it already. I'm a man, she's a woman… and _a good looking one for that matter_… **of course** I would like something else to happen but **it didn't**. And right now I'm happy to have her trust and friendship, so **shut the fuck up already.**" He shouted. Yamato stayed quite but he couldn't help to smirk as he thought how cute Taichi and Sora would look together since they had pretty much look-alike behaviour. In a word, they were meant to each other, what it led him to another question. Were he and Mimi destined to be with each other?

He didn't have much time to think about it, though, because they had finally reached the place were the body was. He jumped out of the car and walked towards the body set, were several cops were already taking pictures and collecting proves. He looked around and spotted Takeru taking off his gloves and throwing them into his bag. "Hey Takeru!" he called. The younger blond turned to see who was calling him and went to meet his brother and Taichi.

"So, what's up doc?" Taichi replied in a funny way, trying to copy Bugs Bunny. "Very nasty thing of you ask me." Takeru replied. "No doubt about being a murder, but it wasn't simple kill. The person who did it wanted to make his victim suffer and he knew just how. The rest, I think you can see for yourselves. The hour of the dead was approximately between twenty three and one a.m. Anyway I would like to go home now. That guy over there has my report…" he motioned to an elder man reading some papers. "… and more details only…" "…after the autopsy." Both Taichi and Yamato completed.

Takeru yawned. "Well, then I'm going home." He walked off. Taichi walked to the body set while Yamato went to ask the report to the elder cop. Takeru was right about saying that had been a nasty thing. The floor was covered in blood like in most murders, but the body wasn't on the floor. A young girl about eighteen was hanging by her wrists from the ceiling. Taichi watched the horror scene. Takeru was also right when he said that the victim had suffered. There were several cuts over her entire body. Her right foot had been torn all around and her fingers had been cut. By Taichi's experience in murders and criminal psychology, he would make the wild guess that the criminal had left her to bleed to death.

"What do we know about this girl?" he asked no one in particular. It was Yamato that replied him as he read from a sheet the data of the victim. "Suzuki, Sumomo, nineteen years, single, student in the Arts University, born in Uji." He resumed. Taichi started making possible plots. Revenge and jealousy were two off the possible scenarios. They would have to investigate her friends, her parents, her relationships with them and all her personal life. But for another wild guess, he thought that that wasn't an isolated murder. It was just too professional. Maybe she was just a victim of the rage of someone that had nothing to do with her. Chosen by fortune. He was thinking about a serial and that would be very nasty.

He turned to Yamato that was also inspecting the set. It had nothing out of ordinary. It was just another abandoned building used for another murder. "What do you think?" the brown haired asked. The blond thought for a while. "It looks too professional to be some angry boyfriend, but it shows much rage. Maybe she was just unlucky and was passing by the wrong place at the wrong time." He concluded. Taichi nodded in agreement. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

The body was put down over the floor and Taichi took a pair of gloves and started searching for some vestiges. The girl had marks on her neck, but they weren't deep enough for a cause of death by asphyxiation. They might have been caused for an approximation from behind. He noticed that they were small though. He called Yamato and grabbed him by his neck. Then he watched as the marks made by his fingers disappeared. The blond just looked at him surprised. "Hmm, interesting." Yamato walked away again.

Taichi turned his attention back to the dead body of Sumomo. Her clothes were completely intact, covered with blood but intact. That is except for the back of her shirt that was torn in the back. In his logical mind he imagined someone grabbing the girl's neck from behind and pulling her shirt strongly so it torn. There was also a thread of dry blood that came from her forehead to the right side of her head, where a considerably severe wound was. Her wrist were, of course, marked with the rope that held her, but besides that there were also some ancient wounds caused also by a rope that indicated that she had been held captive longer than what Taichi had first thought.

"Hey, you there." Taichi called one of the younger cops. "Have you searched if she was in the list of missing people?" the boy shook his head. "No detective. Do you want us to do it now?" the boy asked. Taichi nodded and the boy quickly disappeared towards a computer in one of the police vans.

Yamato then came to Taichi with the reply and some more information. "She isn't in the missing list and her parents died in Uji last year. She has a brother Tatsuo Suzuki…" Yamato handed Taichi another sheet. "…we're trying to contact him, but it's two in the morning so…" he stated. The blond had a point there. "Well, I guess there's nothing more we can do here. Tomorrow we start investigating her friends and connectons." He replied and yawned. "Right now, I'll say we go back to our patrol and finish the shift."

With that last statement, both Taichi and Yamato left the murder set towards their patrol car and drove off.

* * *

_Humph...no reviews...well okay... --_


	12. Chapter 12

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Eleventh Chapter

Sora opened her eyes as the morning light began to enter her darkened room. Though it wasn't much of a light, it still was enough to awake a light sleeper like her. She rubbed them trying to get use to the light that burst inside as she exchanged some looks to the window. Outside the winter snow had accumulated above the roofs of the houses around her apartment and in the streets. She watched as a snow truck drove through the streets to clean them making them open for the cars to pass.

The watch over her night table marked fifteen past ten a.m. Sora yawned as she walked slowly in her sleepers to the kitchen to make herself a coffee so she could awake. She sat lonely at the table sipping her drink without much enthusiasm. She just missed working, but something else as well. She sadly remembered the only night she remembered having some company. Only then she began understanding how she liked having someone by her side when she awoke, instead of the emptiness and coldness of her lonely home. In her head, only one image could replace that loneliness and that image was of Taichi.

She walked over to the phone and hesitated, weighting the pros and cos about phoning the brown haired man. It had been about three days since she had last seen him. That had been the day she had been with them at the cafeteria. Only then she reminded that she was supposed to think about Yamato's porposal of being his godmother, which she was really inclined to refuse.

The phone lied there, besides the couch on its usual spot, but somehow it seemed to be calling her. She eyed it like she was under hypnosis. Should she or shouldn't she call him? She wanted to see him, but at the same time, she was afraid to see him. She didn't know anymore if she could control her instincts that really told her to hug that man and kiss him. She didn't want to move too fast for her own good. Taichi had been patiently waiting and she didn't want him to think he could rush things.

Just when she was about to pick up the phone it started ringing. She retrieved her hand surprised and then breathed in relief. She looked into the small screen on the phone, but she couldn't recognize the number on it. She clicked the bottom okay and replied to the other side of the line. "Hello?" her voice was clearly a puzzled one, but the voice coming from the other side was no puzzle to her and it froze her blood almost at the first letter.

"Hi babe. It's me." A seductive, yet serious and manly voice replied from the other side. At that moment, Sora didn't know what to do. She wanted to release the phone and run as fast as she could to the most secure place in her house. Her hands travelled like a thunder to her waist, and she surprisingly realised she wasn't dressed up, and so she didn't have her gun with her. But for the rest she could not move, as the voice spell bounded her and prevented her from doing a thing.

"C'mon, just say something. Call me an asshole if you want." The man continued. Sora's mind screamed as memories rushed through it. Her face went paler and paler as she slowly realised that she wasn't having a nightmare. She was really hearing his voice again, the voice she didn't want to hear but that she, at the same time, longed for!

Finally her mind gave in and she spoke coldly and rough. "What do you want?" there was a small laugh from the other side. She could almost swear she could feel his breath on her neck coming from the receiver itself, closer and closer and closer. Then she could really feel it. She stood up in thunder timing and turned to face him. His cold brown eyes staring at her crimson ones. His lips formed a little smirk as he put down the phone from which he had been talking and took a step forward. She started screaming and he put his hands over her mouth followed by his lips.

Sora opened her eyes suddenly. The covers of her bed were on the floor and she was lying in her pyjama without anything else covering her. It was very cold, but still, she was sweating. A cold sweat though. She sighed in relief as she acknowledged it had been just another nightmare. _But it seemed so real._ She thought. They all seemed. She just remained there, not knowing if she should stand up and busy herself with something or if she should go back and try to sleep a little longer. Her eyed flew to the clock in her night bed. It marked fifteen past ten.

_Crazy dream._ _But it's only a coincidence._ She calmed herself as she watched the watch marking the exact same hours that in her dream. She hadn't been able to get a straight sleep for over a week now, since that incident in the cafeteria. She was so sure she had seen him there, or maybe she was just hallucinating. Sometimes it just felt like he was always watching her, whatever she went and then the nightmares, worst than ever, started haunting her again.

She stood up and stared around her room directly through the window. The snow was falling in small flakes, not fast but very slowly like they were dancing along with the wind. A cold chill came up her spine and she shivered. She pulled the clothes closer to her as she started to make her way to the kitchen.

The kitchen was cold as well as the rest of the house and empty, very empty, but in contrary to her dream, she didn't found it empty and lonely. This possible might be, because in her dream she hadn't seen Taichi for the longest time, while in reality she had seen him that same night, since they had made the shift together. She prepared herself a coffee and sat on the couch turning the television on and starting to watch the news. Not much to her surprise there it was the news about the day's before murder.

"We're here in the place where, yesterday, another teenager girl was brutally murder. We don't have access to the crime scene or to picture of the girl, and the police refuses to give more information, saying the case is still under investigation." The reporter on the news said. She allowed the camera to shoot some pictures of the commotion around them and then it went back to her again. "The citizens of this city have only to ask: is it safe to be studying in Kyoto? This is…" Sora turned the television off while she murmured. "Yeah right. Try you to catch someone when you haven't the sliest idea of who it might be."

She stood up and turned her attention to the phone. And just as she was going to pick it, it started ringing. She suddenly had that idea of dejá vu. She shook her head and tried not to think about the dream again, but somehow she found it difficult. She picked the phone and answered it. "Sora here." "Hey, Sor. Did you see the news?" an unmistakable voice asked from the other side. "Yeah. Just turned it off." She replied annoyed with the news still. "Well, would you like to investigate this case?" Taichi asked. His voice sounded very excited about something. Sora raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?" "I tell you when I get there. I can go over, can't I?" he asked, his voice sounded like a little children asking for candy to his mother. Sora giggled. "Yeah, you can. But can't you…" she was about to ask, when she heard the dial sound. Taichi had hung off the phone.

Sora just sat there for a while in surprise before she decided to go dress herself before Taichi came. She went to her bedroom and made her bed. Then she undressed her pyjama and stared at the closet trying to decide what to wear. She ended up by deciding for a pair of black pants and a fluffy wool sweatshirt in tones of deep red, completely matching her eyes. She then automatically picked her belt and put it on along with her estimated gun.

While she waited for Taichi she decided to clean her gun. She headed towards the living room and sat on the couch cross legged. Then she started dismounting her gun. She took the charger and counted her bullets and put it over the phone table. Then she took the top part of it and the handle. With a clean, middle soaked cloth she started cleaning it. She smiled as the dust caused for the action of the trigger showed up in the wet cloth instead her gun.

After several minutes, she was finally over. She mounted the gun again and rolled it in her fingers admiring her work. She loved her gun, maybe because it was her best ally against the scum that she faced. It wasn't once or twice that that same gun had prevented her from getting hurt or even killed. Of course her hands as her entire body could be deathly traps as well, for someone like her that knew how to use them. She could kill with a simple touch of her fingers in someone's neck or spine. A movement of wrist can cause much pain if you know where to hit, and Sora, was one of the few that knew how to use it. But sometimes that wasn't enough and other means were necessary.

As she watched her gun shining in her hands, images flashed through her mind. Bodies lying around her, but still none of them dead. She had never really killed anyone. She had injured some badly, one of them was never able to walk again, but not kill. She had always managed to hit them in a way that they remained alive, only preventing them from attacking her again. She had a sharp aim and she usually didn't miss her target. She knew how a few inches could make the difference between life and death.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the knock on the door. She put the gun back in her belt and went to open it. Taichi stood there, in his usual long coat that gave him a nasty but still attractive look. She smiled at him as he smiled to her and she motioned him to enter. Taichi of course had no troubles in following the orders and entered the already familiar house.

He stood next to the couch, interrogating himself if he should or should not sit. He watched as Sora closed the door behind him. His eyes coming from her feet to her head, admiring every inch of her like he always did, especially when she was not looking. He just loved to see her in those black pants that she had the custom to wear. It made her sexier. As Sora turned to meet his eyes, he immediately turned his gaze to her crimson orbs as well, not wanting to pull the trigger in her temperament.

Sora motioned him to sit and so he did. He noticed how she was transporting her gun, even in her house. He chuckled. She sat besides him and invaded him with curiosity looks. He watched as well her gloved hands, this time with black bike gloves instead of the winter gloves she used to wear outside. He reached for them, as Sora frightened watched his moves, ready to react at the sliest sign of danger. Her mind was still acting like that of an animal kept in captive, always waiting to be shot or abused. Her muscles relaxed along with her face features as she saw Taichi's hands heading towards hers and slowly taking her gloves.

The two of them just stared at each other, sharing the moment that in a way they were both enjoying. He for being able to touch her, she for being able to feel him in her hand's skin, so long kept from touching other's skin. Taichi sighed as he took her other glove. "I've said to you, that I don't like when you use those around me." He said throwing away the glove that fell right above the other in the top of the television. He could feel her skin and it felt divinely. He allowed his fingers to trace the lines of her hand bones, feeling the soft pale skin of her hands. She shivered as his fingers seemed to be touching her soul and not exactly her hands and retrieved them, broking the spell moment. She cleared her throat before start speaking again.

"So… what were you so excited that you couldn't wait to tell me?" she asked turning her gaze to the phone. Taichi took a deep breath as a huge grin spread through his face. "Well, now that you're back to work and…" Sora eyed him growing impatient. He smiled mischievously. "Yamato took a time off, remember?" he asked. Sora turned to face the window and sighed. "Yeah, I'm going to work alone, I know."

For many years, that should be the happiest thought crossing her mind. Besides she had worked alone for several times before Yamato became her partner, but now, she was used to the blonde's company and she wasn't much in the mood to work alone. Nevertheless, she had no choice because the pairing was already done and no cop wanted to work with her.

"That's the point." Taichi continued. His eyes sparkled like shining rays of the sun as she looked to them. "Look, the question is: would you like to be my partner in the murder's department?" he asked. Sora looked speechless to him. She had never considered even the possibility of going to work with him. She was not used to murder's investigations but she usually fit up everywhere and learned the stuff easily, besides it had been her that had first arrived to the place where another victim of, who the media called, the University Killer was, and she had done a pretty good job. _Why not?_ She thought. _After all it's still police work_.

Taichi eyed her, now impatiently to know what she thought about his idea. It had seemed a perfect one. Yamato had taken a time off, since Mimi had too and both of them were on vacations now. The Hiroshi case was over and Sora was a smart woman, he knew she would fit in quickly in homicides, besides she didn't have many other choices. Even if he liked it, he couldn't go work with her again, because that had only been one case, but on the other hand she could go work with him. He was sure Jyou wouldn't mind. _Why should he?_ _I'm helping her to rise in her career._ Taichi thought. _Besides it's not like I would like to leave her to become cold and distant again._

But that wasn't his problem. As he faced her now with the question, he was afraid she might say no. He wanted her by his side so much. Not only at work, that is, but that would have to wait. She was still vulnerable for what he could see and every wrong move could leave her in a worst state that the first time. He waited for an answer. A drop of his own impatience sweat fell through his face and he gulped dry.

"What do you say?" he asked her. His answer was given in the form of a beautiful little smile that he loved in her. "Yeah, it will be great." She replied and embraced him. Taichi was taken back by her sudden burst of joy and she too was surprised by her actions as he hugged her back and they remained there in each others arms, both knowing they wanted more in that moment, but both not knowing how to ask for it.

The crimson eyed was the one who broke the hug. She felt herself blush and quickly got up to have a drink. She went to the refrigerator and took a cane of beer that she immediately opened and was about to put her to her lips when a hand took it from her. Taichi eyed her disapproval. "Why do you keep drinking like that?" he asked her. Sora was embarrassed and looked to the other side, until she felt his arms surrounding her and turning her back to him. She followed his hands movements as he slowly put the cane in the table avoiding his gaze.

Taichi watched her. Her slender waist on his hands, her head down, ashamed. He couldn't guess why she kept drinking like that. He knew it took her a lot of beer to get drunk but still he didn't like one bit that every time she found herself in a tough situation she went to drown herself in alcohol. He noticed how she prevented him from looking into her eyes. He moved his hand to her chin and raised it, but still she did not look into his eyes.

"C'mon Sora. You can't keep drinking away your problems." He admonished her. Two tears escaped from her eyes and she made no effort to clean them, just like the time in the cleaning room. He could still remember her face as he tried to kiss her and somehow he still thought, as Mimi did, that so much pain against men couldn't be caused by just one person. But he also knew that in time, she would learn to trust him.

The brown haired guy fought against the urge to taste her lips and cleaned her tears, involving her in a warm embrace. "I know it's your way to deal with things but you have to stop." Taichi said. The crimson eyed pulled away and wiped her tears. "No, you're right, I shouldn't." she said. Silence felt between the two, only to be broke by the phone ringing.

Taichi got out of the way and allowed Sora to walk to the phone. He simply followed her and waited next to the door. Sora picked the phone and waited for an answer from the other side, but the answer she got wasn't quite the answer she was expecting and it froze her entire body. Even her tears that threatened to fall stopped in their places. Taichi watched her behaviour and wondered who would it be on the phone. She didn't spoke and she only put down the phone again and walked towards Taichi picking her wallet that she stuffed into the back pocked of her pants.

"Let's go. We need to get to work." She replied in her usually cold tone. Taichi eyed her curiously. "Who was it over the phone?" he asked. His mother had always told him to mind his own business but somehow he didn't seem to ever listen to what people said. The answer was given in a calm yet stoned and ghostly voice. "A mistake." She replied as she waited for Taichi to open his Subaru door. Then she entered and didn't spoke in the entire way.

Jyou sat on his chair mirroring some papers over his desk, but his mind was a little far from the papers, from the desk and even from the place he was. His mind was in a certain brown haired girl. He couldn't believe how the time had rushed away so quickly. To him, it just seemed like yesterday she had finished her course and had entered that same building asking for a job as psychologist. She was so young then. He too was younger and the first time his eyes had came upon her beautiful features his heart beat faster, his hands shook and he couldn't concentrate. It was like an angel had just passed through the door. By that time he was in charge of the police for only a few months. He loved her from the first moment he saw her, but still he never revealed his love for her and now it was simply too late. His angel was going to get marry and was waiting for a child from one of his subordinates. He sighed. She was happy that was all that mattered, but still his heart couldn't stop aching.

He decided to go for a little walk. He always thought he was just too old for her and maybe that was the truth, but still he wanted her to know that she could always count on him, like everyone. Like his young policewoman Sora. Though Sora was almost the same age as Mimi, he couldn't see her as a woman, but as a child, the child he would like to have. He wanted to be her father, the father he knew she had never had and deep inside he knew he had been like one for several times. But she too was growing up and had finally found someone that loved her for real. He wanted to protect her but he knew it was Taichi's time to do so. He just had to let her go too.

He inhaled the fresh air outside his balcony as the snow started falling again. Fragile snowflakes just like his Mimi. He didn't know what had happened to her in the office, but somehow he had a thinnest clue. Maybe she wasn't so sure about marrying Yamato. The baby is the trigger that pulled them both into it, Jyou knew it. He had been much admired when the young woman came to him and told him the news. She had also asked him to keep it secret and so he did. She had told him about her ideas of marrying Yamato for the child sake. By that time, Jyou had remained calm, but now he regretted deeply. He should have told her that they should choose what was best for them, and if that wasn't what she thought the best then she shouldn't do it. _I was a fool. If I had told her sooner maybe none of this would be happening. _He thought to himself. But he also knew he couldn't have done it, because he didn't had the courage to do it.

Another snowflake made his way through the moving air. Jyou followed it with his eyes and watched it as it fell upon the roof of a dark blue car.

Taichi opened his car door. He was tired of the silence that had fallen between the two of them, after the phone and curiosity was killing him. For some seconds he had even consider the hypotheses of putting a small bug on Sora's phone, idea that he quickly rushed from his head, since he knew what would happen if Sora ever found out about it, what she probably would, since she had this amazing ability to know when he was lying. She could detect the smallest indices of a lie in him.

He walked around to the sidewalk and waited for Sora to also exit the car, so he could finally lock the doors. He pushed the small button on his car's keys and it made the usual beep sound when you lock the doors with a remote. He eyed her as she simply walked towards the building in a zombie like way. Who ever was on the phone had really disturbed her.

Sora looked behind her to see Taichi eyeing her. Only then she noticed how she was strangely behaving. She quickly smiled to him and motioned him to hurry. He just shrank his shoulder and continued. She was trying her best to forget the stupid dream she had had and then bang. The phone call. Now no one could say she was being paranoiac. Taichi had heard the phone as well. It was so déjà vu. She couldn't forget the words he said just before she hung up and they hammed her head beating back and forwards like a little hammer in a screw. "I came back for you, babe." It was just the typical words he said when they were still together, but now, they had that devilish, maniac, psychotic tone. By just thinking of it, it sent chills up her spine.

She had never claimed the possibility that he would return. After all, she was only a woman. _There were so many others that he could have fallen in love with, married and had children, but no, he had to come after me_. She thought. _But then again, why am I so worried. He can't harm me anymore. I know how to defend myself. _But even thinking like that, she couldn't stop the fear from growing inside her. There were so many ways he could get her. And she was afraid that he would try to do it again. The last time, she hadn't even figure how she had escaped. She guessed it had been somehow in the middle of his gasps as he watched her punished back, but part of her mind had blocked that day from her, but not from her dreams. That was why they haunted her every night. Each time in a different way, in a different place.

Suddenly she felt herself being shaken and stared at the brown eyed man, before her that tried to wake her from her trance. His words sounded distant somehow. She recalled herself where she was as she slowly came back to the planet earth leaving her ocean of thoughts. "Are you okay?" the brown haired guy asked her for what it seemed to him the millennium time. "Yeah… I'm okay. Don't worry." She pasted a huge smile, unusual for her, in her face, but Taichi wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? You spaced out for like fifteen minutes, you know?" he concernedly informed her. Another smile. _She's definitely not okay. Maybe if I just take her to work right now she goes back to normal._

They entered Jyou's office and watched him as he too seemed to be spacing out in the window. Taichi considered for minutes if he was actually thinking about throwing himself from the window. "Huhhh…sir!" he asked. The only thing he received as an answer was a mumble and then Jyou turned to face them. He was already aware of the situation and he was just waiting for Sora to sign the transference papers so he could dismiss her and she could start working officially with Taichi. He sighed and watched the young couple before his eyes.

Sora picked the pen. She looked over to Taichi, that smiled encouraging her and then to Jyou, that also smiled, even if in a more fraternally sad way. She then turned her attention to the paper and made her signature in the right spot. She then raised and excused herself for a cup of water, but what she really wanted was be alone for a while with her thoughts. She wanted to cry a little so she could be okay. More than that, she wanted to do other thing, but she was keeping her mind away from it, trying to prevent her from actually doing it. She knew it would bring her relief but then it would also bring guilt and pain.

Jyou stared into the boy's eyes as he too signed the paper giving a special notification to make the process quicker. Taichi then shook hands with the blue navy haired man and prepared himself to leave. Just as he was turning the handle, Jyou's deep voice spoke in a sad yet authoritarian tone. "Take care of her." He said as Taichi faced him. The brown haired nodded. "I will, but you know she will only be some steps away." Taichi laughed unwilling. "The homicides department is just the next floor." Jyou allowed himself to laugh also, because that was true and he knew he still would be able to see her every time he wanted.

"I guess you're right. Maybe I explained myself badly. What I meant to say was: **don't hurt her**." His voice sounded cold and rather tough. "And I mean it. She's like a daughter to me, even if I'm only a few years older than you, I feel like she's my daughter and I know I could be the father she needed and she didn't had." Taichi was shocked with Jyou's words. Jyou felt like he was the father Sora never had? That was a deep revelation. But Jyou continued. "Treat her well. I wouldn't like her to return to her old nasty habits, if you know what I mean?" Jyou said glancing over to the window turning his back on Taichi. "If you don't, **I'll kill you** **and Ishida**." He finished and Taichi left.

As he walked down to meet Sora in the spot where the huge barrel of water was, the blue haired's words puzzled his mind. _Kill me and Yama!_ Taichi thought confused. "What does Yamato has to do with this?" he asked more to himself then to anyone around him, but in fact he asked a little too loud and some cops around raised their heads from their work to see who was talking. One of them was Koushiro that as soon as he saw Taichi rushed to greet him.

"Hey man, how are you?" Koushiro asked shaking hands with Taichi. The brown haired smiled to the shorter man before him. "Good, you?" "Fine. So… now you talk to yourself?" Koushiro asked curiosity burning inside him. Though Taichi spot what the red haired man wanted, but he needed some answers and he might as well know some. "Well, I'm kind of puzzled you know?" he started not heading directly to the point. He wasn't much direct in any matter so he wouldn't be now. "I went to Jyou's office to fill up the papers with the recommendation for Sora to homicides …"he paused to check if Koushiro was following him. The other nodded. "And then Jyou comes with a conversation about Sora being like a daughter to him and if I hurt her both I **and** Yamato would pay." He paused again. This time to watch Koushiro's reaction, that wasn't quite the reaction he was waiting for.

"So that left me thinking what Yamato had to do with Sora, besides being her partner, they had nothing to do with each other." Taichi concluded. Koushiro pulled him to a corner and made sure that there was no one around. "The fact is that they don't have anything to do with each other." He told to Taichi. This last statement only left the brown haired even more puzzled. "But then…" "Shh." Koushiro interrupted him. "I'm not finished. Yamato… has to do with Mimi." he said hoping Taichi could get the rest, but still his face remained in an enigma just like before. Taichi could be a real genius in resolving murders, but in what came to love, he was a zero.

"Jyou is in love with Mimi." Koushiro said losing his patience. "He has always been, since the day she got here about the same time me and Sora did." Taichi's face turned from a puzzled one to an astonished one as he stared wide eyed to Koushiro. As to assure his position before this type of knowledge, Koushiro nodded and then left, allowing Taichi to stay alone with his thoughts for a while.

_Man, that_ _was a surprising revelation._ Taichi thought. _Never had I thought Jyou would be in love with someone. I even thought he was married._ He walked away heading to the spot where the water was. Sora was already there, with a cup in her hand. He eyed her. Her eyes were slightly redder than usual. She smiled and drank the remaining of her water. "So, do you care to show me where I'm going to work?" she mocked him a little. Taichi smiled before her good humour, thing that he usually didn't see much from her.

"Of course." He replied and walked towards the elevator followed by Sora. The murder's department was slightly different in the organisation. There were several cops working there as well but in groups. She walked through a long hall with doors in every metre in both sides. Finally Taichi stopped and entered in one. It was a not very large but still not small either room. It had two desks turned to each other under a large window that showed the grey whitened sky outside. In the walls were cork boards that, for now, exhibited several pictures of the University Killer's victims, Sumomo and another young woman. Another board across the cork one showed information written on it.

Sora concentrated her attention in the desks again. They both had equal chairs and a paper basket was on the middle. On the top of the desk were two small desk lamps, a phone and a laptop. One of the desks was filled with papers spread in a much disorganized way; some photos, papers, a plate with some remains of what had probably been Taichi's dinner last night, and a frame. She walked to it and forgetting that it should be Taichi's and that he was actually behind her seeing her every move she picked it and stared at it.

There were four persons in the picture: two youngsters, one about fourteen with brown broom hair and a huge smile, that could only be Taichi, and a younger teenager girl with mousy drained brown light hair and auburn eyes that also smiled looking happily to the picture, that was probably Taichi's sister, Hikari, the journalist that had followed her during her undercover investigation. Above the two teens were two adults both smiling. They should be Taichi's parents. She smiled to the Yagami lady on the frame; she was so beautiful. Her brown hair curled up in a bunny on her head. With one hand she grabbed the young woman's hand while the other was over Taichi's messy hair along with her husband's hand. _The perfect family._ She thought, a tear wanting to roll down her face. She prevented it with an enormous effort.

Taichi watched as Sora carefully observed his frame. He allowed her too, after all it was his family, he was proud of it and he had nothing to hide, excluding maybe his famous broom hair that had seemed to become wilder as he grew wild as well. He went over to her and placed a comfort hand on her shoulder that startled her a bit, but she kept watching the picture on the frame. "It's my family." Taichi affirmed in a proud tone. "Your mother is beautiful." Sora replied still staring at the woman. Taichi only smiled weakly remembering his mom. "Was, she died when I was sixteen." He informed.

In that moment Sora just wanted to find a hole to hide her embarrassed face. Stupid_, stupid._ _You just don't know when to stay quite._ She repressed herself. "I'm so sorry, Taichi. I had no idea, I'm really sorry." She pleaded turning to meet his eyes. Taichi smiled and put the frame back in its place that was amazingly the only spot over the whole desk that wasn't dirty.

"No, don't say sorry. It's not your fault that she died and I know that you, above all people, can understand how I feel." He replied. Sora blushed before the complement as she remembered her own mother. She then decided to change the subject that was bringing tears to her eyes again. "So, this is going to be my desk?" she asked like a little child excited to know how to play with her new toy.

The brown haired man walked around to his desk and sat on his chair. "Yup!" he replied crossing his fingers on the back of his head and leaning on his chair comfortably. "Like it?" he asked. She nodded and went to sit as well in her chair at her desk. She patted the top of the desk. It was black, but that just gave the white lightened room a more modern view. She looked around her once more and took a deep breath. That was going to be her new work place and she liked it.

"Let's get to business." She finally replied awakening Taichi from his slumber time. He looked at her and then around him and smiled. He knew he had made a good choice by picking Sora to help him with the investigation. He stood up and walked over to the white board. The name of the victims along with some personal data were written on it and above their names was a picture of them.

Sora stood up as well and walked over to the table studying the information that was being given to her. Apparently the victims had nothing in common. They were in different universities, had a different past, their families didn't know each other, now common friends. Nothing in the common at all. Sumomo was an art student, while the other girl, named Reika, was a science student. The only thing similar in them was the way they died. They were both tortured, fingers cuts, in one case the victim had her index finger in her stomach which meant that the killer had made the girl eat it, while the other had her finger on her mouth. Both with several cuts all over the body, marks on the neck, which meant they had been both being caught the same way, and both had died bleeding to death.

"Have you interviewed any of the family members?" she asked Taichi. He nodded. "Yup, Sumomo's family, or better, her brother." He replied. "We still have to investigate their friends and interview them, but as you know…" he blinked at her as she turned to look at him while he reported his advances. "…I needed an extra pair of hands." Sora smiled. "Yeah, I guess you did. Then let's keep this going." She said.

The two young cops left the room and the building to enter Taichi's dark car again and started driving to the Arts University, a few kilometres away from the centre of the city. "You have any clue: revenge, hate…" Sora yawned as Taichi drove. "Nah, they have nothing in common, at least till now." He glanced over to his newest partner and saw her yawning again. "You're tired?" he asked, not taking the hands of the steering wheel but glancing at her for a few seconds at a time. She shook her head but as to make of her a liar she couldn't stop another yawn that arrived unsuspected. Taichi looked slightly worried. "Do you wanna get some coffee?" he asked her. Sora nodded.

Taichi turned around and started heading to Miyako's cafeteria. It was basically the hang out of the entire police department and plus, it was the only place where he actually liked to drink coffee. That is maybe except for his sister home made coffee, of course. He parked the car in front of the cafeteria and glanced over to Sora to see her fast asleep, but still not quite resting. She was twisting and turning even in her seat. He stayed there watching her for a while. She was obviously dreaming, maybe having a nightmare and it was consuming her. The brown haired guy watched the sweat rolling over her face. Sometimes she would mumble something unintelligible. He took her safety belt and called her name. Her face contracted in what it seemed to be pain and she mumbled something again. "…alone…" was the only thing Taichi could understand.

He placed a hand on her face and slapped her gently. Suddenly she woke and grabbed Taichi wrist with an animalistic force squeezing it along with its owner as she pushed him against the driver's door. Her eyes, furiously red in fear. Her other hand pressed his throat, preventing him from breathing. Then, just as suddenly as she grabbed him, she let him go. She was obviously ashamed of what she had done. Taichi gasped for air when he was able to breath again. He caressed his throat as to be sure she hadn't taken it off. Then he glared at her, her face down, her hands gasping uncontrollably against each other and her mouth moving in a excuse me conversation that he couldn't hear.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Before you read the story I would like to state once again to all reviewers that this is a re-posting and that I'm not changing the story, just the mistakes that I found. Also, that if you find any mistakes, please inform me, so I can correct them and improve the grammatical quality of your reading._ **

* * *

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Thirteenth Chapter

Mimi moved from one side to the other in expectation. Yamato on the other hand, remained calmly on his sit, watching as his fiancée paced nervously through the small waiting room, where some other pregnant and not so pregnant women sat waiting for their turns to be attended. They were, like always lately, in two completely different worlds. While Mimi anxiously waited for her turn to be assisted by her gynaecologist, Yamato, once more, wondered about the true destiny of his relationship with the woman that carried his child. Never had he thought in his entire life that asking the woman he loved in marriage could cause so many disturbances in his mind. It was almost like an hurricane had just rushed through it and had messed up everything, and now he couldn't put back some things together again.

He sighed in frustration and was taken back from his world by the voice of the young secretary that had called both him and Mimi. He stood up and held Mimi's hand for comfort. He could feel her hands shaking. This was the first time she was going to make an ultrasound to the baby growing inside her. She glanced over to Yamato but his eyes were completely lost in some other thing. She squeezed his hand and he was brought once more from his wondering world to the reality. He smiled reassuring to her.

The doctor, a tall man, with about forty years sat behind his desk in the small clinic, full of medical stuff. He motioned the young couple to sit down on the two chairs standing in front of the desk and so they sat back. Yamato watched more carefully the clinic as Mimi listened and replied to the questions that the elder man was making. It was small, with walls painted in a soft tone of blue. In the wall there were pictures and sketches, some with pregnant woman showing their bellies inside with the nine months baby, other about the menstruation cycle, and some other about giving birth. He turned around to watch more carefully what was behind him and saw a stretcher like with this kind of arms where woman are supposed to put her legs. He gasped slightly at the thought of a woman opening her legs like that. Now he could really understand why some women didn't like going to doctors, after all they are sticking their heads in a, according to his thoughts, not very pleasant place in a not very pleasant way.

He continued his inspection and watched a very small screen with lots of buttons next to a now true stretcher that he immediately identified as the ultrasound. Not far behind, since it was a small clinic, a shelf stood with an amazingly great collection of books with diverse titles but always related with medicine and especially of course gynaecology and obstetrics. He then turned his attention to his partner again, that was just finishing answering the questionnaire, which almost looked like she was filling a form to enter the secret police.

The doctor stood up and motioned Mimi to lie down on the stretcher. After a few looks to Yamato and his reassurance and comfort smiles she finally lied down as she watched fearfully her surroundings. She noticed how old the doctor looked by then. He might after all not have about forty. The only thing that seemed as new as when he was a child, was his childish smile and his eyes that shone with an amaze bright for an old man. He pushed Mimi's shirt up and unbuttoned her pants, what in Yamato's opinion he could have asked Mimi to do, but he lied off the guy and allowed him to continue unpunished with the examination.

As the cold gel touched her belly, Mimi let out a small moan. The doctor then put the device on her belly and started by trying to locate the baby as he spread the gel on her belly. Yamato watched the screen as a white and black figures appeared on him, not really seeming like a baby any of them. Of course, he did know that the baby was still not completely formed and all, but he still couldn't see nothing that it looked like a human thing. Suddenly he felt something in his hand and saw how Mimi, even looking also at the screen, grabbed his hand. He smiled and wrapped his fingers around her hand.

"Here it is." The doctor exclaimed as a _thing _apparently human appeared on the screen, still not quite noticeable. For Yamato, it could have been her stomach because he really couldn't distinguish anything in the screen. He searched in vain for something, only able to distinguish some dark points in the middle of the screen. Mimi though, seemed to be seeing more than him, as she squeezed and _un-squeezed_ his hand and let out small chuckles.

Fifteen minutes later, they were finally off the clinic for Yamato's happiness. They walked down the movement street of the centre of Kyoto's city. Mimi grabbed his arms as she smiled happily and looked up to him. Yamato just walked in his usual fast but still slow cool pace watching the people who passed by them. He could feel Mimi's arms around his arms and her head leaning cutely on his shoulder as she tried to make herself a little warmer. The snow had stopped but the streets were full with the white solid rain, not so white now that it was on the dirty floor.

Mimi watched her soon to be husband. She couldn't understand what was going on with him. Lately he seemed so distant, always lost in thoughts, and every time she got his attention he would just smile or say something sweet, being, seconds later, lost in his own thoughts again. For a while she had been like that too, but not anymore. She had already thought about their all situation over and over again, and she had reached the only conclusion that she could ever thought of getting. The conclusion that she was doing the right thing, that she loved him now and she would love him forever, and above all, that he wasn't marrying her because of the child she carried only, but also because he loved her and wanted her to be the woman next to him when he got old. But every time she saw him so lost in his thoughts, she began to wonder if she was really right.

Nevertheless she shook away those thoughts as the Christmas' music began to float in the air and spread its happy spirit around. Only then she noticed how close they were from Christmas, only about a month away. The time had in fact passed rather quickly lately. Things had been happening and sometimes she couldn't accompany them. Her soon to be brother in law would marry next week with one of her friend's sister, her marriage was about four months away and she already had the best man and the god mother, well at least invited, because she still didn't have a reply from Sora. But she could almost bet that she would accept. After all her friend was very much changed. She couldn't contend herself from a scream of happiness when she had heard that Sora was actually going to the marriage anyway.

She smiled for herself. Things were going greater than she could have ever imagined. Life was beautiful and was smiling hugely for her. Only then she remembered the only thing that wasn't quite right in her life, but she quickly put the thought aside, trying not to ruin her good mood, but somehow she knew it was already late. Her thought started drifting as well and she got back to the point she had first started and where she always started. _Am I doing the right thing?_

But that was, as many others, a question to which only her and her alone could reply, because the answer lied within her and she already knew it, thought she was trying to fight it.

Hikari watched as the lights of the flashy announcements in the walls of the buildings caught her eyes. She looked outside the window of her and Takeru's warm Daweo Matis. She just loved that car. It was great to drive in the great cities but also in the small ones. It had an easy driving and it was easier to find a spot to park if you have a small car. The snow had finally stopped outside and right now she was glad it had, because she had many things to do and such a little time to make them all.

Her marriage was the following week and she still felt like she hadn't taken care of anything. Takeru on the other hand, seemed quite peaceful and not worried about things. His mind seemed to be only in marrying Hikari. He had even purposed her that they married without anyone's knowledge, except for best man and the godmother of course, since they needed to sign the papers, but that also seemed to be he's only excuse to let them know, because she could almost swear that if they weren't needed to legalize the marriage then he wouldn't mind that there would only be him, her and the priest in the church. "It would be a romantic marriage." He had sensually told her. But Hikari wanted more, she wanted other people to be in her marriage, all the people around her that she loved, even thought that wasn't quite possible since her mother had died, but she believed that wherever she was, she would be watching her.

As the car drove between the busy streets, she spotted a familiar blond haired guy in the streets walking along with a long brown haired girl. She looked better to see if it was really them and in fact they were. She motioned Takeru to stop in a nearby place and they both went to meet the older couple. Between kisses and greetings, Hikari could feel something wrong between them, but she didn't speak about it. They walked over to a nearby cafeteria where while the girls chatted happily about the marriage preparations, the guys chatted about the usual stuff, football, the latest news in sport and, last but not least, Takeru's work.

"So, have you chosen the dress yet?" Mimi asked enthusiastically her friend. Hikari blushed at the thought, not really knowing why herself, but she did. "Well, no. I was hoping to go chose it today." She replied embarrassed. She knew the godmother was suppose to go with the bride to chose the dress, but her godmother was in Hong Kong and she wouldn't be able to come till the wedding. Hikari wasn't quite sure why she had picked her as her godmother. She was her aunt by maternal side maybe that was the reason. Or perhaps it was only an attempt to bring her family closer. After her mom died her maternal family had been kind of separated from them and she resented that, so she had thought that maybe that action could bring them together, but unfortunately it didn't look like. Her aunt didn't even care about her niece.

Mimi stared at Hikari for a quite long period as the young brown eyed seemed to be lost in thoughts. She noticed a small hint of sadness in her eyes, that immediately disappeared the moment Mimi called her name and she broke off her trance. "Would you like me to go with you to choose the dress?" Mimi asked politely, not only trying to be nice as she got the idea that Hikari was going alone to pick the dress and was sad about it, but also, because herself would like to those kinds of things. She loved fashion and she loved even most going shop and buying a wedding dress was an important choice.

The little brown eyes that stared a few seconds ago sadly at Mimi's honey orbs seemed to be overjoyed as she quickly nodded taking Mimi's hand in hers and thanking her. Mimi just smiled before the young woman's behaviour understanding her fully. In that moment she also got a thought about if Sora would eventually go with her to buy her wedding dress. A picture formed in her mind, of the grumpy Sora sitting in the waiting chairs outside the changing room while Mimi showed up in the most amazingly beautiful dresses. Eventually, Sora would yawn and after an half hour she would probably be asleep. Mimi giggled at the thought. That was certainly going to be fun.

Meanwhile, Hikari had already told Takeru to go on without her that she would phone him later to go pick her up. Takeru simply gave her a nod and a kiss before she left. Yamato also acknowledge that Mimi was going with his soon to be sister in law and gave her a kiss as well. Then the two women left happily leaving the two men on the cafeteria still talking.

"Where would you like to go?" Mimi asked Hikari as they stood in the middle of the sidewalk, while Hikari decided the direction which she wanted to take. After all they were in the centre of Kyoto, and there were several clothes shops with wedding dresses. After a couple of minutes thinking, Hikari finally decided to go down the street to a shop where she had already seen a possible wedding dress. Mimi followed her, making her way besides Hikari through the amount of people walking exactly in the opposite way. In fact it almost seemed they were the only two persons walking down the street while most of them would just walk up.

They didn't speak much through the way, as they really didn't had much breath to talk but also because the noise of the cars and the audio announcements along with some people stopped in corners talking made their personal conversation almost inaudible and if they talked louder, it would become a public conversation because everyone walking in the streets would hear it. Not that they were worried about that, because most of the people were just so busy with their own stuffs that they usually didn't pay much attention to their surroundings.

A couple of metres ahead, Mimi spotted a small, yet pretty store with several wedding dresses exposed on the exhibiter. Hikari sighed in relief as she entered the store running away from all the people walking around, up and down the street. Mimi did the same. Both of them took their gloves, caps and coats and delivered them to a lady that was receiving them in the entrance of the store. The lady immediately hung them in a hanger behind her, turning her full attention to the new customers that had just arrived.

"Good morning. May I help you?" she immediately predisposed herself, while smiling widely. Hikari returned the smile and nodded. "Yes, we wanted to see wedding dresses." she replied. The woman nodded in understanding. "And the dress would be for you or your friend?" the woman asked, not wanting to sound stupid. Hikari giggled at her actions. "Ups, sorry. It's for me."

The woman nodded once more and always holding a smile on her face, she excused herself, leaving the two women looking around the store. Mimi had already spotted a few night gale dresses that she liked. She was now holding one in her hands while putting it in front of her, delineating her belly. Hikari went to meet her and watched the dress carefully. It was a simple, but yet pretty model. The pink pale colour matched Mimi's lips and stood very well with her skin. It was made of a very soft tissue that felt straight. It hadn't many accessories. Two long sleeves opened in the bottom staring in the shoulders, a tight corset and then a long skirt that felt over the feet. Over the waist line it had a small darker pink strip that culminated in a pretty ribbon in the back.

Mimi watched herself with the dress in front of her as she turned making it wave with the air. "What do you think?" she asked seeing Hikari behind her. Hikari motioned her to turn and she watched carefully. Mimi still had a small belly so the corset wouldn't really hurt her or the baby and it would certainly fit her like a glove. "I think it's very pretty." She replied. Mimi turned to the mirror again and smiled. She loved gale dresses but she hadn't the chance to use them many times, since she didn't went to many dinners with important persons or to fancy restaurants.

The lady that had first talked with Hikari returned with a huge catalogue in her hands. She opened it over a table in the corner of the room and motioned the two ladies to sit down and see the dresses. It wasn't only a wedding catalogue, but it had also, night gale dresses, godmother dresses, baptism dresses and also some tuxedos for young boys. Mimi sat beside Hikari still with the pink dress in her hands, while she glanced over to the book and Hikari turned the pages.

"Too short, too curvy, too tight, too complicated, too long…" she said as she twisted her nose to most of the dresses. After about an hour of leafing and leafing again, she had about four dresses that she liked. The lady quickly excused herself once more and went to pick them on the warehouse behind the store, where she held most of the catalogue dresses and much to Hikari's surprise the four dresses she had picked. Mimi though, kept hugging the dress. She finally took a glance at Hikari that motioned her to go try it on. And so, she quickly changed to it. When she finally left, the lady had already come back with the four dresses in her hands.

"You look great." Hikari told her as she stepped out of the changing room with the dress. "You really think?" Mimi asked a little unsure as a small blush crept up her cheeks turning them in a soft pink tone, once again matching the dress. "You are really beautiful miss, and the tone of the dress, matches your lips and stays very good with your skin." The lady said reassuring Mimi in her decision to buy the dress; after all it was her part in working there. But besides the professional opinion, the lady also thought that Mimi looked really nice in the dress.

It followed them about two hours of changing dresses, choosing shoes and a veil. When they were over, it was way pass lunch time and both the women were starving. They paid their huge bill since a wedding dress isn't cheap and with bags on hands and smiles on their faces, they both left the store and walked over to the place where they had stood to meet Yamato and Takeru for lunch.

The boys were already in the restaurant, sitting in a four person's table with some bags by their sides. They were talking when they noticed the girls had arrived. "How was the shopping?" Takeru greeted his fiancée kissing her softly as he tried to sneak to see what she had in the bag, but Hikari had the bag closed and he couldn't see what was in it.

"Don't you know that seeing the bride's dress before the marriage gives bad luck?" Mimi playfully noticed. Takeru blushed and turned his attention to the other side of the room that appeared to have some interest all the sudden. The others just laughed at the statement. Then Yamato noticed that Mimi herself was caring a bag. "What do you bought, Mimi?" he asked her.

Mimi blushed as she sat down on her chair by Hikari's side and faced her soon to be husband. "Well… I bought a dress for Hikari's wedding." She replied. Yamato smiled. "That's cool. Then you try it when we get to my house, okay?" he asked, then smirked. "I would like to see how it fits you."

Hikari noticed his smirk and laughed. "It's a very pretty dress, so make sure you don't ruin it while you drool looking at her." She replied. Yamato blushed too and turned to the same spot Takeru had been looking seconds ago, founding something interesting in it also. The girls giggled at the two blond brothers and continued to chat along with them.

Sora glanced occasionally to Taichi that drove silently besides her. She was afraid he might have gotten angry with her, which he had all the right to be. After all, she **did** almost strangle him. Another dream, or better, another nightmare had gotten to her. When she woke up feeling hands over her, shaking her, she panicked and her instincts told her to hurt the person that was shaking her. Fortunately she had acknowledge what was happening before it was too late. She still remembered too well his looks as he eyed her with a mix of feelings that she was certain not even him knew exactly what he was feeling: angry, surprised, sad, betrayed were only some of the words with which she could describe his look.

----Flashback----

He stared wide eyed at the girl before his eyes, as he tried to regain his breath, coughing a lot. Even though she had only pressed his throat for seconds she had almost broke his neck with the strength she made. He quite didn't know what to think. She was sleeping and when he tried to wake her up she threw herself to his throat. He didn't know how he felt either. It was mixture of words that he could not describe. He saw her regretted look and how she too was shocked with her actions. She covered her mouth with her hands as a few tear started rolling down her face. He could see her mouth moving, but no sound came out of it.

It looked like hours that they stayed just there, shocking looking at each other, none of them able to say a single word. Then actions were louder than words and Sora flew off the car and started running down the street. He could see that more than she had hurt him, she had hurt herself with her actions. He too went out of the car, having the conscious to lock it and ran after her.

It was kind of hard to run in the snow, but Sora, though, seemed to be used to this running in the snow thing, as she quickly got away from the car and seemed to Taichi that she was getting farther by the minute as he tried to reach her. Probably in normal occasion, he would have called her, but right now he didn't even thought about that possibility as he just kept running after her. It would probably worth nothing, since she wouldn't hear him or if she did, she would just kept running faster.

Eventually she got tired and felt to the floor exhausted by all the running. She leaned against the nearest wall and buried her face on her hands, crying noticeably. Taichi arrived to her spot minutes later, also out of breath. For moments he just watched her there crying, thinking about what he should say to her or what should he do. But he wasn't the first to talk. She was.

"I'm so sorry… I was… having a nightmare…, and then… you wake me up and…" she said between the sniffs of her hard crying. "I'm really sorry… I didn't mean to…" she continued sniffing. Taichi sighed and wrapped her around his arms comforting her. "Shh…" he shushed her as she continued to cry in her hands. "I know you didn't. I was just… shocked, you know?" he tried to choose carefully his words not wanting to make the situation worse than it was already.

Sora hushed a little as she raised her face from her hands. Her reddish eyes were live red now and her face was coloured too. Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness. "I'm sorry." She whispered to him. Taichi smiled and pushed her up. They stared in each other eyes fixedly. Taichi held her hands in his as he approached her slowly, targeting her lips. They leaned closer, dangerously closer, as Sora too locked her eyes with his, targeting his lips. Suddenly their eyes were both closed and…

"Hey, give me those!" a little boy suddenly shouted at other boy that had run around the couple and hid behind them. The first little boy picked a hand full of snow and made a small ball that he aimed to the other boy, but he ducked and it hit Sora's back. The boys ran away, and the moment that Sora and Taichi were both ready to share ended in a flash.

They released each other's hands and looked away not knowing what to say, blushing noticeably. "It's getting late." Taichi said. Sora nodded in agreement. "We should go make that interview and then go get lunch." He purposed. Once again Sora only nodded and they both started heading to the car in silence.

----End Of Flashback----

Now, that same silence that had fell between the two was disturbing her. It wasn't only because of what she had done, that she felt uncomfortable, but also because of what both of them had been about to do. She couldn't allow herself into a relationship now. Not now and not ever. She didn't feel ready and she somehow felt she would never feel ready to enter another relationship. The fear was still to recent to her and since the latest happenings...

And she wanted her friendship with Taichi. It had become a very valorous thing to her. more than Yamato's or Mimi's friendship, she prized the brown haired guy's company, friendship and all the things they both shared, and the silence that was consuming them right now, only made her wonder if she had ruined their friendship.

Taichi on the other hand, wasn't worried about the silence. He knew he wasn't angry at her and he knew she wasn't either. In his mind there was only one thought and that thought concerned the kiss he was about to share with Sora. This time, he would have shared a kiss with her, he would not have kissed her but they would have kissed each other. This only made him happier in a way, giving him hope with the stubborn red eyed girl sitting besides him, but it also made him a little angry with those two kids that had just broken the magical moment. Nevertheless, he was not worried as he knew he would have more opportunities to open her heart to him, now he knew she was receptive to his love as well, even if she tried to fight it back.

Unfortunately for them, the interview didn't give them any clues, as the two victims seemed to have nothing in common with each other. They had tried to make connections but the fact was that they couldn't find any. Besides both being girls and students in the University, there was nothing. They didn't have a common pass or even studied the same thing. They were starting to despair and think that this was a new serial killer with no obvious targets. The only clue they had was that the killer was probably a woman, by the marks on the victims' necks. But still, there should be hundreds of women in Kyoto and they couldn't put them all under investigation. They only could wait and hope the next time she would make some mistake. Of course that implied that one more person would be killed, but unfortunately there was nothing that they could do except waiting.

He glanced to Sora as he drove and locked eyes with her. Both immediately turned to the other side and blushed. Taichi was tormenting himself mentally for having another crush, but still it felt so good to be in love. And every time he fell in love it seemed to be something different. With Megumi he had a possessive feeling, wanting her always next to him. He often wondered if he was only in love with her charm and appearance. After all her personality wasn't anything special and she wasn't smart either. His passion for her was a sick one, in a more lustful way. But with Sora it seemed different. Way too different. Maybe it was because, for starting Megumi and her were two completely different persons.

He thought of his passion for Sora as a more realistic, almost platonic love, even though, he couldn't quite say if it was real love, since he didn't know. With Sora, he felt shills coming down his spine every time she spoke, his heart rushed every time they touched and he didn't think of her in a sexual way when he looked at her, but more in a romantic way, which was sometimes scary. He daydreamed about taking her to the movies, staying there hugged seeing a good action thriller, walking through the park and sat on a bench to see the sun set. He also thought about going on adventures together, saving her, like a knight in shinning armour. Things that he had never dreamed of when he was with Megumi. Their relationship was based on Megumi living in his house and when he came home late, she would have dinner ready. They would eat, chat about their days, make out and then go to sleep. Sometimes they would have sex, but nothing else. Maybe that was the reason why Megumi had betrayed him after all.

He shook those thoughts off his mind as he pulled over in a sub park. Sora was out in her world and didn't even notice they had stopped. He just brushed his hand against hers that rested in her lap and she woke from her world and smiled to him as she left the car. He mesmerized her smile. It was simply so beautiful. Then the door shutting closed awoke him and he too stepped out of the car.

Sora waited that Taichi exited the car, to know where they were actually going, since she didn't know where they were going to eat. He seemed to have spaced out in the car. "So, where are we going to eat?" she asked as she saw his brown messy hair emerge from the other side of the car. Taichi looked at her and smirked. "I surely hope you like burritos." He replied teasingly. She laughed.

The restaurant had a fast food appearance like Macdonald's with all the sits and table almost glued together and the counters. They stood in the line to be attended. Sora took her time to watch around the place. Even with the fast food appearance it was a nice place. Music was played by the local radio in a low yet audible tone, and people chatted in their tables lowly.

Taichi was first on the line, reason why he asked first. "A burrito, a coke and…" he thought for a while. "Well, I think that's all." He said and then paid for his burrito and waited with his board on hands for Sora to make her order. She looked over to the list of food, but she didn't know most of the food there, so she just followed common sense and asked the same as Taichi. "A burrito and an ice tea, mango, please." She politely asked. The girl picked the stuff and put it over her board. Sora took her wallet and prepared to pay, but a hand over hers stopped her. "My treat." Taichi replied. The look in his face indicated that there was no argue possible and so, Sora stepped aside and allowed Taichi to pay for her. Then they both went to sit over a table next to the window.

While Taichi began to eat promptly his burrito, Sora remained still eyeing her food with an inquiring look. Then she slowly picked it and bit a slice. She smiled approvingly to that kind of food and began to eat as well. After some bites, she picked her ice tea cane and drank a bit as well. Immediately she noted to herself that burritos weren't good with ice tea, but she eventually had to finish her ice tea.

Later that evening, Taichi and Sora sat on both their desks examining the depositions they had from the victims' familiars and friends. Once again, they searched for something similar in both cases. Through the window, they could see the night falling, as the snow began to fall real slowly again. It was a cold night and the room was kind of freezing as well. Sora pushed the scarf she had brought from one of the drawers of the desk and put it around her neck, protecting herself from the cold. It was a black wool scarf with a symbol draw in deep red on the bottom.

Taichi leaned against his chair and looked over to the window. Then he yawned and turned his gaze to the girl in front of him. She was searching through the list of telephones of the victims to see if she could find something. But he was more interested in her than in what she was doing properly. He gazed into her soft features, but yet, strong and powerful how he knew she was and he reminisced the first day they had met. She was all rage inside, fearing every men and hating them for unknown reasons. With time, and a fortune rescue, he had won her trust and within time, he knew he would win her heart too.

He was awoken from his thoughts by the sudden ring of the phone. Both of them reached for it at the same time, making their hands collapse into each other in the air. Sora then raised her head from the papers, since she had not even look to see where she was heading her hand and simply instantly had reached out for the phone, and saw Taichi's hand beat against her own. She took it abruptly and Taichi answered the phone.

"Homicides, Detective Yagami's office." He replied into the receiver. Sora waited for him to finish talking. He emitted sounds like mm, and yeah or okay, to finish with: "We're on our way." With this, she immediately reached for her gun that rested on the top of the desk and for her badge and stood up. Taichi followed her movements and picked his gun and badge as well and exited the room while explaining the situation to her. He found that it was too easy to work with Sora as a partner. He mostly didn't need to tell her what was happening because she was very perspective and usually made her own conclusions. He found how easily she understood what he wanted to tell even when he didn't know how to explain. Most cops would probably wait until he ended the phone call to ask what was going on and only then reach for their belongings to get to work, but she didn't.

They entered the car and Taichi put the flashy lights on the top of his roof, opening his way through the traffic along the main street. They reached the crime scene minutes later. Takeru hadn't arrived yet and so, Sora and Taichi began to examine the cadaver. "Young female, about nineteen." Taichi replied as he looked at the girl hanged by the neck. "Same cuts, same procedure. No doubly the same person." He resumed. Sora nodded in agreement.

While they waited for Takeru to arrive, they continued searching around for clues, when a lot of commotion near the police line, made them turn to see what was going on. Sora followed by Taichi approached the site where a bunch of cops tried to control some reporters that tried by all means entering and taking pictures. As they approached they were filled around by journalists for the television, some live, and papers. From between the crowd, Sora noticed an old lady that tried desperately to approach some cops, but she was being pushed by all the reporters around and she fell to the floor.

Sora tried herself to get out of there and go talk to the old lady. She could have been a potential witness and she couldn't loose an opportunity like that. Unfortunately for her and Taichi the reporters had them completely surrounded and kept shouting questions that obviously they couldn't answer. "Do you have any clue of who's behind these crimes?" "We have information that the killer is a female, can you confirm that?" "What measures are being taken to prevent more people from being killed?" Taichi raised his hands and tried to calm the reporters around him but it was turning to be a very hard job. "We cannot give that sort of information and we would thanks that you would leave the place and let us work." He tried once more, but his voice was engulfed by the hunger of information of the madly reporters.

He glanced over to see where Sora was, and noticed that she was trying to get away from the reporters in the direction of an old lady that had fallen to the floor. He then watched as she clenched her fists. "Oh no!" was all he could say. Sora was getting angry by all of those cameras and reporters around her. One of the cameras was right in front of her and prevented her from going anywhere. She watched as the poor old lady fell to the floor pushed by one of the guys. She couldn't take it anymore. She clenched her fists and hit the camera, breaking the lens. The cameraman stepped back as the camera fell to the floor broken. The journalist tried to get a comment by that angry Detective, but all she could get was her micro broke in half. Only then the reporters began to disperse allowing the two cops, a female angry as hell and a surprised male, walk over to an old lady on the floor that tried to get up. Once again they tried to surround them, but the police circled them and prevented them from doing so. Some of them smirked seeing the camera smashed on the floor along with the micro.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Sora asked as she reached the lady. The old lady nodded and accepted her help to stand up. "I wanted to tell you that I saw someone exiting the building." The lady said. Taichi's and Sora's eyes opened widely at this new clue and accompanied the lady to the building where they sat her in a chair that Sora had gone to pick.

"So tell us, what have you seen?" Taichi asked. The lady started describing what she had seen while Sora took some notes. After fifteen minutes they were done interrogating her. "Look, you will have to go to the police station to make a deposition, okay?" Taichi replied. The woman nodded and smiled. "I just want to help. Young ladies being killed is not a good thing, young man." She said. Both Taichi and Sora thanked the lady her help and left her with another cop that took her to the police station right away.

Meanwhile, Takeru had finally arrived. He made his way to the now decreasingly crowd of journalists and stopped by the two. He glanced over to his next job and started to take off his winter gloves and put his plastic ones as he examined the death woman. "Do I need to say anything?" he asked taking his gloves, standing up and staring at Taichi and Sora. They exchanged looks. "Actually we needed to know the hour of death." Sora replied. Takeru blinked an eye to her and leaned himself over the victim again. He watched her pupils and the dry blood over her body. Then he stuck a thermometer in her liver and measured her temperature.

"I would say, between seven and nine a.m. probably." He replied. Then he took his gloves and stuffed them into a nearby bag containing other things of the same kind. "Then, I guess that's all." Taichi said. "Give me anything you have, okay?" Takeru nodded and left. But just when he was about to leave, Hikari along with her photos' camera popped in. "Hey, Takeru." She called out for him. The three of them glared at her.

"What?" Hikari asked playing innocent. "Oh, c'mon you guys. If I didn't take advantage of having a forensic doctor for husband and a policeman for brother along with a life savvier for friend…" she blinked an eye to Sora that watched her surprised. _Life savvier?_ _Friend? I don't get it. She has me in a high spot and I didn't save her, did I?_ she thought. "…to have a scoop as a journalist I would have to be mad, right?" she finished. Taichi and Takeru exchanged glances and then looked back to Hikari. "Oh, okay. I'm going." She said, but not before she had taken a single photo to the death body.

Takeru followed her and both of them started talking about how Hikari had a nasty way to always get into trouble every time she put herself into investigating something. Taichi eyed the two lovebirds with a smile on his face. He then looked over to Sora that remained silently watching the two leaving. She then looked to Taichi with a confused look. "What?" he asked approaching her.

"What does your sister means by life savvier? I didn't save her life." She explained him as they both headed for the car. Taichi opened the door and entered followed by Sora. He smirked. "Well, in a way, if it wasn't **for you**, they could have found her and you saved **my** life." He replied. "I think that's what she means."

Sora then remembered the episode. She could feel Taichi's gaze over her. She had saved his life, but he had saved her too. "I guess then we're even." She replied locking eyes with him. He smiled. "Yup, I guess we are." Taichi replied and only then he felt the urge to ask her. He didn't know why she had taken a bullet instead of him. He didn't know where she had come from. She just flew to him and it hit her. And bringing the issue to surface again, made him think that she had never really told him what had actually happen. He had his hands on the steering wheel, but he allowed them to fall to his side as he turned to face her. She was looking through the window. "Why did you save me?" he asked.


	14. Chapter 14

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Fourteenth Chapter

The question stroke her very quickly as she too asked herself. She looked up to him and their eyes met once more. "I guess…" Sora started, but the fact was that she didn't know what to answer. It had gone by quickly. "I guess I did what I thought it would be the right thing to do." She replied. Taichi gazed at her; somehow he found that hard to believe, or maybe it was just his hope that she would say that she didn't want him to die.

"Was it only that?" Sora looked at him. What was he expecting she would say, she wasn't sure, but she wouldn't lie to him. "It happened all so quickly, Taichi." She explained looking out the window. "I was telling Hikari to remain hidden, when I heard gun shots. I covered myself and saw you jumping into a guy. I was looking for a way out without you seeing me, when I spotted Hiroshi holding a gun to you. I didn't think. I simply jumped trying to save your life."

Taichi looked at her darkened form next to the window. She didn't dare to face him. "Okay, thanks." He replied as he prepared to turn the engine on again and start the car. "We should go home now, don't you think?" he said, trying to smooth the environment that he himself had created. Sora only nodded as the Subaru started and Taichi drove through the busy streets of Kyoto.

Unaware to them, near the murder spot, a man had been watching their every movement. His face was now contracted in a horrible pain mask, not hiding his jealousy over the relationship that both Taichi and Sora shared. Once again, he remained in the shadows, but not for long now… He tightened the grip on his coat and walked away.

The ringing of the phone echoed through the empty house, or so it seemed. Taichi turned from one side to the other and throwing his pillow to the nearest wall, he finally decided to wake up, seeing as the phone wouldn't stop ringing in his ears. His right hand felt the sheets, then the night table and over it finally the phone as his eyes remained closed, not willing to open.

"Hello!" he answered to the receiver with a sleepy voice. "Hey, sleepy head." His sister's voice was unmistakable and almost immediately woke Taichi from his zombie state. He glanced to his watch. Almost seven in the morning, still too early for him, but not for Hikari as it seemed. "Hey. Do you really need to phone me at these hours in the morning? It's still night." He complained. Hikari though, didn't seem to give much importance to it.

"I thought, you cops were supposed to be working early." She joked, but the only reply that came from the other side was a yawn. "Look, Takeru told me to call you, since he's busy and to tell you that he might have some news for you. But as we're going to start vacations tomorrow, he went earlier to work to finish your cases, so you can't solve that shit once and for all." She spilled the information through the phone, but Taichi only understand middle sentences and he wasn't quite getting the point of waking him so early.

"I still don't get it." He replied. He heard a sigh from his sister as she shortly explained him what she was calling for. "Takeru wants you to meet him in an hour." She said. Taichi nodded still not completely awake and hung up the phone, not letting Hikari know if he was actually going or if he had actually understood.

He stood up and walked to the bathroom. His clothes flew through the air and ended up in several places through the bedroom and the bathroom itself. Then he infiltrated himself in the shower and opened the water. A cold batch of it ran down his spine and soaked his brown messy hair, but he did not complain. Even in the cold winter, there was nothing that could wake him better that a cold shower.

After a couple of minutes he was dressed and ready to go, but not before taking his breakfast. He put some milk in the microwave and took his chocolate cereals that he ate in less than five minutes. He then, put on his coat and his gloves and prepared to leave the house.

Outside it was colder than it had been yesterday, but maybe that was also because it was earlier. The streets were almost empty, not counting two or three early risers. He once more muttered under his breath cursing the person that was making him wake so early, and it wasn't Takeru he was blaming. He preferred to blame it on the University Killer. If it wasn't for a murder, something else would come up and interrupt his sleep. He opened the door of his car and entered it. While he prepared to drive, he wondered if he should or should not go and wake up Sora. He finally got to the conclusion that she was his partner so she had to go with him so he drove to her apartment.

Eight floors under Sora's apartment, in the streets, a beige car stopped in front of the old building. A man stepped out of the car and walked upstairs. He stopped in front of Sora's apartment's door and stood there for a while, listening to any sounds. The television was on and some cartoon seemed to be passing, judging by the childish voices. The man wondered if the woman was awake or not, but without evidences of either, he decided to leave again. He walked downstairs and entered his car, parking it again a few metres ahead.

Inside the apartment, Sora held a cane of beer. It was full and open. She watched television without any interest or even giving attention to what she was seeing as her attention remained on the object in her hands. She stood up and walked to the kitchen where she emptied the container of the cane in the sink. It was the third cane she emptied that way and though it made her feel good with herself for being able to contain herself from drinking, she wasn't feeling good at all.

Her eyes were prevented from any glimpse of joy or happiness and under them two black holes gave her a tired drugged aspect. Her hair was sluttish and her clothes were simply a long t-shirt that couldn't almost cover her ass. She threw herself over the couch and tried for the seventh time to sleep that morning. But as always the sleep didn't come and she knew why. Because every time she eventually was able to fall asleep she would always awake in the same way, drowned in cold sweats, her heart beating fast, her breath uncontrollable and her mind and spirit sank in fear of another nightmare becoming real.

She was so in her thoughts that she didn't hear the knock on the door. Taichi was standing outside. He knocked softly on the door, but as no one replied him, he knocked once more, this time harder and for his stupefaction the door opened by itself. This was simply consequence of a very sleepy and troubled mind that Sora could no longer control and allowed that she completely forgot to lock the door; in fact she hadn't even closed it properly.

Finding this strange, Taichi carefully stepped in the house. But his thoughts of robbery were put aside as he saw Sora lying on the couch partially awake but not quite still as she didn't seem to notice his presence. In her mind another phone call troubled her. Her fear consuming her completely, breaking another promise of her: never to be led by fear again.

The words were recorded in her mind like the most faithful recorded device: _Soon we'll meet again_. But what was troubling her most, was the fact that she could no longer be sure if that had been another nightmare or if had been real. It was all too confusing as the reality and the fear mixed themselves in her mind. Suddenly she felt a hand over her forehead. She snapped out of her thoughts and sat straight on her couch far from the warm source. Only then she saw Taichi there. Her eyes showed a mixture of fear and confusion.

"The door was open." He replied. "Are you okay?" Sora didn't know what to say. Should she day yes when it was so obvious that she wasn't, but if she said no, would she tell him what was causing it. "Not quite." Was her reply. Taichi didn't wait for her invitation to sit down as he knew she wouldn't invite him because he didn't need it.

"Takeru has something new to show us." he informed. He watched as her scared hands twisted in her lap. She looked miserable. "Do you need to talk?" the question was unnecessary, because he knew she needed to talk as he also knew she wouldn't talk unless she wanted, but it was a way to remind her that he was there by her side no matter what. "Don't worry, I'll be okay." She stood from her spot. "I guess then, that I must go dress myself." And walked off without another word.

Taichi remained sit in the couch watching the cartoons, but like its previous watcher his attention and interest were not on it. He stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a cup of water. As he did it he saw the beer canes over the counter and sighed, returning to his earlier spot. He waited for Sora to appear, what occurred ten minutes later, as she too had taken a cold shower, somehow trusting that he wouldn't spy on her, even with her fears.

She finally walked into the room, changed into a pair of jeans and a sportive sweat shirt in tones of black and white with the slogan skater boys on the back. He eyed her with a sad disapprovingly expression. Not really understanding the reasons, Sora eyed him too. "What?" she asked, still up near to the door, putting her gun on her belt.

"You're drinking again!" he half stated, half asked, but Sora took it as an offence. "**No!**" she replied shocked. Taichi stood up and narrowed her. "Oh c'mon, don't deny it. **I saw** the canes in the counter." He said. Sora took her time to think. _Yes, I left them over the counter._ She thought. "Yeah, but I didn't drink it, **believe me.**" She said, but Taichi found that hard to believe. Sora was, after all, almost alcoholic. She could control herself when she was in a normal state, but lately she wasn't herself. He could tell that she was often spaced out and every time they entered the car, she would eventually fall asleep. He didn't know what was going on properly but he knew something was up.

"How can I, Sora?" Sora lowered her head before this statement. It should be hard to believe after all. She was always a good liar, and she had already hid so many things from him, but there was no way she was going to tell him what troubled her. "Look, you believe me if you want. I was going to drink them…" she said embarrassed with her own sentence. "But then I didn't. I spilled the content in the sink."

Taichi mirrored her. He wanted so badly to believe it. He sighed and gave up. "Let's go." He said. Both of them left the building and entered the car, which Taichi quickly drove to the hospital. That was probably the last place he liked. It always brought him memories about his mother. They caught the elevator to the sub levels where the forensic lab was.

They found Takeru sitting in a chair near the latest death body with a sandwich in his hand and chewing a piece of it. Taichi thought he would be sick. "How can you eat in a place like this?" he exclaimed disgusted announcing his presence to the younger. He stood up and walked to the pair. Sora greeted him in her usual cold, even if she was nicer now, tone as she approached the young girl's lifeless body.

"So, what do you have to tell us?" she asked without taking her eyes from the blond man. He swallowed another bit of his sandwich and walked towards the body. He uncovered it and Taichi had to press his noise. _I'm_ _never going to get used to this smell. _He thought as he too approached trying to forget about the awful smell. Takeru pointed to the girls nails. Sora watched as he raised the body's hand so she could see better. "They're broken." She stated. Takeru nodded. "That are clear signs in her external injuries that she fought against her killer."

He then covered the body again and walked to a near room separated by a glass wall, where several microscopes along with other investigation stuff where. He turned one of the microscopes on and focused the lens, and then he motioned Sora to come over and watch too. "Blood." "Yup. And after the analyses we have absolutely sure it's not hers, so it must be the killers."

Both of the detectives smiled at this new revelation. Now all they needed was the suspect. "Thanks, Takeru." Taichi replied as he stood after watching the blood at the microscope as well. "This will definitely help us… as soon as we find a suspect." Sora sighed as she walked away. Takeru, glad that he had finally managed to be of some help, sat back on his chair and continued eating his sandwich. Taichi was left behind. "Aren't you coming?" he asked his soon to be brother in law. "No. I still have two autopsies to make." The blond replied after finishing chewing his sandwich. The brown haired was preparing to leave when he was interrupted by a hand.

"How are things going with…?" he motioned with his head to the door where half minute early Sora had left. Taichi sighed. "You know she's tough." He replied. The blond smirked. "But I think I'm on the good way." Taichi continued. Takeru smiled openly. After all, he wished not only that his fiancée's brother was happy, but he also thought that Sora and Taichi were perfect for each other. This is of course, besides the little bet he had made with Hikari, about how much time they would wait to get together. As the brown haired guy left, he resumed himself to a sigh and sitting again in his chair finishing his sandwich and preparing mentally to open more two dead, one of them a seventy years old lady. _People these days don't have respect for elders anymore_. He sighed as he walked over to the lady and picked the bistouries to make the famous Y cut.

Hikari sighed as she finished her latest article about the University Killer. That scoop had really brought her to the top, but now she was always overworked and she really needed a vacation. Her boss had put her on working in almost every murder case known over the last few days, hoping she would decipher the maze around the identity of the killer, but as Hikari already knew, that was impossible. She had asked her brother for information and though he wasn't supposed to reveal those kinds of things, he told her they were clueless about the identity of the murder and Hikari knew that her brother was one of the best criminal police over the entire area.

She checked her e-mail and sent the document to her boss, and then she walked over to her room. Over the bed was her wedding dress. Her smile was undoubtedly of joy and daydreaming. She could almost hear the priest saying the magical words after both her and Takeru had said yes, and she was sure that there was nothing that could stop Takeru from saying it. She could almost feel his lips over hers for the first time in their married lives, and the sound of the cheering coming from her friends and family. The canes rolling in the back of their Daweo as they left for their honeymoon and the sound of his brother's mocking voice threatening Takeru: _If you hurt her, I'll kill you_. She was sure he would say something like that. She giggled at the thought.

The dress was as beautiful as she could have imagined, or even more. She raised it in her hands and put it in front of her, swinging around the bedroom in absolute happiness. Her life couldn't have been better. But then the thought of her mother assaulted her mind, but that only brought her happy memories. The memories of her mom while she was alive. Stopping in front of her closet's mirror, she held her dress and smiled to her reflection. "See mom, I'm going to get married with the most wonderful man on earth."

Taichi and Sora were once again back to their office searching through the files they had finally got from the new victim. Sora searched over her public life, while Taichi was more interested in her personal life, relying on several witness' depositions to built a profile over the girl.

Suddenly Sora started picking the other two girls profiles. She opened all of them in the same page, where picture of them alive where along with their public life. She picked a pencil and underlined some stuff. Taichi brought his attention from his own papers to what she was doing. He didn't dare to interrupt her, since he had for experience that once we're following a logic rationing with do not wish to be disturbed, so he just watched as he waited for her to finish. After some underlining and re-reading, she put down the pencil and stared at the files with a confused look on her face.

"What, did you find something?" he asked anxious. Sora though didn't give him a direct reply. "This doesn't make any sense." She replied. Only then her attention was locked on the brown haired guy, her partner, as she picked two of the files and showed them to him. "See here. The second and the third girl are connected." She started. "They were both in the same prep school, but the first one was on a different one."

Taichi looked to the files as to confirm what she was saying. He too was confused but then he had an idea. He and Hikari changed school once, when they changed neighbourhood. "Maybe the killer changed from the first girl's school to the other or vice versa." He replied. Sora grinned. "Let's check it out." She said. Taichi picked the phone and dialled the first school's number, while Sora did the same thing with her cell phone. After an hour they had both the list of students of those years in the same year as the victims, one year up and one year down, in their hands.

While Sora read the names on the first list, Taichi checked if there was anyone with the same name in the other, and then, finally a match. They couldn't stop from thinking that they had finally hit the right spot. "Tashibari, Suzume." Sora read from the girl's profile that she had managed to get from the schools as well. Beside some basic information, they had as well her picture. Then they entered the register services and collected more information.

It was late in the evening when they thought they had collected enough information about the girl. They new where she lived now and every little mistake she had made through her life, but it was still something missing. They needed a motive. It was the motives that led to crimes and in the court it was the first evidence to bring someone to jail. Without a motive there's no condemnation.

The night was passing slowly and the shadows had engulfed almost every building around, but neither Sora nor Taichi were determined to go home after finally getting a clue over someone. They continued searching and searching, until the tiredness finally took over them. Sora had already fallen asleep over her papers.

Taichi stood from his chair and picked a blanket from one of the emergency kits in the office that he always carried around with him. He also had one in his car. He put the blanket over her shoulders and just stared at her while she slept. He could see that not even when she slept she had a rest as her face kept contracting in sadness, pain and fear while she slept. He pushed his chair next to her, so he could watch her sleeping features, illuminated by the dimish light in the room, coming from the lamp over his desk. She looked like an angel. He put a protective arm over her back to which she replied by approaching him, and even if she was doing it unconsciously Taichi was happy for it, as he curled himself next to her, lying her head on his other arm and fell asleep as well.

Later in the night Taichi was sometimes awake by the sounds of Sora's voice. His curiosity, dying to know what she was dreaming, even if he knew it wasn't good. Until next to the morning… "I thought you loved me." She whispered in a fearful voice. "But I do love you." Taichi replied confused to only stare at her and see that her eyes were closed. "Please, I don't want to do it." Now Taichi was certain that she wasn't talking to him. She was talking in her dreams, but what was she dreaming? Whatever it was it seemed to be painful because Sora's face kept contracting in fear.

He was about to awake her, when she suddenly shouted full longs: "**Nooo**…" and she woke up. Once again, she woke up full of cold sweat and breathing heavily. She looked around to see where she was, as the previous evening came to her mind. Only then, her eyes came upon Taichi's. He eyed her with a mix of fear and confusion. He was afraid of what she was dreaming, to really know, but not really afraid of her. It was that kind of fear that we have before something we want to know, but at the same time, we don't want to know, because maybe the truth was harder than we would have first imagined. He was a detective, a police officer, and he had faced many cases of rape, sometimes he had even arrived in the precise moment and had witnessed the horror that those girls had gone through, but he had also seen what happened to most of them after the incident. They travelled from the hospital's psychologist to the psychiatric hospital in two times. Unable to have relationships with men, living in fear, having nightmares about the forsaken happening.

As he looked into her that morning he saw for the first time that fear, childish fear of something. The nightmares come true. He saw what he had seen during his few career years in girls that suffered that kind of probation. And right now, he didn't know what to do. He had always had words to comfort her, but right now, he did not know of one. All the denying when the symptoms were so clear this last week. Sora was tough now, but maybe she wasn't tough before.

Sora stared at Taichi. _Why is he looking at me like I'm going to kill him or something?_ She thought. Her mind was like an ocean in the middle of a storm and there was nothing surviving. A tsunami had crossed her path and left nothing as he stared at her like that. In some kind of twisted way he hurt her by looking at her like that. She knew what she had just dreamed but she didn't know how much could he had noticed of it, or if he had even made up the puzzle of her life. _I guess I'm doomed now. I'm spoiled forever because of that stupid asshole._

"Why didn't you tell me?" was the only words he was capable to say. Why hadn't she told him? He thought there were no secrets now, but still she had kept, probably the only motive that kept her away from him. The motive that he tried to fight against, proving her that he would never hurt her, but how could he fight something that he didn't know he was fighting? He wanted to hug her as strong as he could. He wanted to tell her that nothing like that would happen to her again, but he couldn't. He was afraid that she might push him away.

Tears rolled down her face. He had discovered. _One night, one fucking dream and he discovered the most sacred secret that I've kept hiding all this years. Now he will not want anything to do with me, because I'm dirty. I don't deserve being loved by him because I'm tainted._ Those kinds of thoughts were the ones that crossed her mind quicker. She had never wished someone to be with her like she wished Taichi but now she had ruined the all thing with a stupid nightmare. She could see he was afraid and hurt. Hurt that she hadn't told him about it.

She picked her gun and left the building, tears rolling down her face without her being able to stop them. She ran with no destination, just ran like her life depended on that. She would never face him again now that he knew. She could never stand those eyes again, looking at her like that. Without even noticing it, she was in the doorsteps of the house of the only person that had known about her all along, and had helped her. Unfortunately that person wasn't home right now. She sat on its steps crying herself out.

Taichi just stood in the same spot. He had seen her cry before, but those tears had been caused by him once more and they hurt. They hurt too much for him to stand up again and ran after her. The truth had hit him too hard and he didn't know what to do. His hands were shaking on his lap and he felt his own tears forming in his eyes.

A young woman about twenty years was walking through the subway, waiting for her metro to arrive. The place was almost empty as it was still early in the cold new morning and the street lamps were still on. She sighed as she sat down in one of the benches near her. Maybe she shouldn't have gone out the campus that day. After all, there was a killer after university students, but as far the crimes had only been commit in the other side of the city. The fact was that she didn't know that two of them had been her friends.

Tired of waiting sit the girl stood and began to walk again. She tightened the grip over her coat as a cold shill came down her spine. _Definitely this was the worst idea I had._ She thought. There was a strange feeling assaulting her. The feeling of being watched and she didn't like it one bit. She looked around but she didn't saw anyone.

Suddenly she heard footsteps. She looked over to her watch to see how much time was left before the metro arrived. A cold breeze travelled her body making her feel uncomfortable. Then more footsteps. "Is anyone there?" she asked, her voice trembling in fear. The next thing she knew she felt someone behind her. "You." She exclaimed seeing the figure features.

"Yes, me." The figure replied. It was a woman about the same age as the metro girl. Her short black hair and her dark eyes contrasting with her white pale skin made her look like a ghost. She reached for a cloth in her coat and put it over the other girl's mouth, but the girl shook the cloth and ran. Unfortunately she ran to the wrong side, and she soon understood it as she saw the metro trails. The black haired girl approached her with a cold pure sick smirk and pushed her against the nearest wall pressing the cloth to her respiratory channels. Seconds later the girl's eyes closed and she fell unconscious to the ground. "Finally the last. My revenge will be finish after your life is finished too." The figure said as she dragged the unconscious girl with her.

Taichi ran down the stairs, not wanting to waste time by waiting for the elevator to come, and entered his car. _I'm gonna make this right. Please Sora, wherever you are, don't do anything foolish._ He thought to himself. He had tried to phone her several times to her cell phone but probably she didn't want to talk with him and so she didn't pick up, so he decided to go look for her. The big problem was that he had no idea about the possible places she could be. And besides, he was at work and he should be in his office as should she. They could be fired for that, but right now, Sora mattered more than his job, besides he could just say he had gone out to interview a person about the case, even if it was a lie.

Koushiro leaned his head over the desk. His brains were about to pop out. He had been organizing the files of missing people in a new search program. He took another glance to the computer screen and smiled at his finished job. Just when he had finished turning the computer off, Jyou entered the office.

"Do you know where Detective Yagami is?" he asked in his rough authoritarian voice. Koushiro shook his head. "Shouldn't he be at the office?" Koushiro replied. "Yeah, but he isn't and I have here a mate of a potential victim of their case. Talk to her would you?" Jyou asked the young red haired boy that immediately nodded. Jyou made a young girl enter the room and Koushiro motioned her to sit down as she began to explain what had happened. As the girl talked, Koushiro fell that something wasn't right.

"Okay." He answered to the worried girl. Her mate had gone out during the night and hadn't come back, and she was beginning to be very worried because she usually didn't do things like that. And now, there was a student killer. Her hands gasped against each other nervously.

"Let me just make a phone call." Koushiro replied as he picked the phone and dialled Taichi's number. After a few beeping, Taichi's voice replied to him from the other side in a hope and worried tone. "Sora!" he replied. Koushiro raised an eyebrow. _What the hell his going on?_ He asked to himself.

"No, is Koushiro here." Koushiro said. Taichi sighed from the other side. "Look, I have here a girl that is reporting a missing student." Taichi listened Koushiro carefully as he decided that he simply had to drive back to the police station, because this student could be in some great danger.

After a couple of minutes he was back and at Koushiro's office. "Would you accompany me?" Taichi asked the young lady that was with Koushiro. She simply nodded as she stood up. "You too." Taichi replied to Koushiro that followed the couple. In Taichi's office, he explained the conclusions that he and Sora had reached and asked the girl to see if any of the girls in the list were her friend.

While the girl searched between the names in the list, Koushiro pulled Taichi apart so they could talk. His dark eyes were staring accusingly to Taichi. "Where's Sora?" he asked in a demanding voice. Taichi had an ashamed look all over his face and he didn't look Koushiro in the eyes.

"I…she, she ran away." He finally managed to say. "Look, it was all my fault, but I can't tell you what happened. You have to phone her and tell her to come back." Taichi pleaded Koushiro. The red haired sighed and did as his friend asked him. Meanwhile the girl in the desk called for the cops.

"This is my friend. See here…" she pointed Taichi a name in the list. "Sonja Takato." Taichi's face contracted into a worried expression. He was sure this was another victim. He quickly asked the girl where Sonja usually went and what transport means she used. He was feeling the time running out. Even if the killer hadn't killed the girl yet, she was probably being tortured. He had to find her as soon as possible.

Sora stood from her place and walked around the neighbourhood. She knew she should get back but she couldn't. She was completely lost in thoughts when she heard her cell phone ringing for the seventh time since she had gone. Not even looking at the small screen to see who it was she simply turned it off. On the other side of the line someone cursed for this.

There were fresh tears trades on her face's skin and her eyes were redder than usual and puffy from crying. She stopped in a bar and sat at the counter. The employee, an old man with deep wrinkles under his eyes and his few hair white as snow, immediately predisposed himself to serve her. "What would you want miss?" he asked in his usual warm and well humoured voice. "A life." She replied, not really paying attention to what the man was saying or even where she was. The man smiled and laughed at the statement.

"Don't we all." He replied. Only then Sora raised her head to look at the old man. He had beautiful blue eyes that even the age hadn't been able to take from him. They shone with joy and happiness. "Oh, sorry. I was… out in thoughts." She replied embarrassed to the elder. He smiled sympathetically. "Problems, right?" he sighed as he took a seat in front of her. The bar was empty like many of the bars in the first hours of the morning. Sora nodded. She normally would have sent the man for a ride, but right now she wasn't herself.

"You know, when I was young, life didn't smile to me many times." He started. "But eventually it got better. There might be many rocks on our tracks but we just have to learn how to step over them and continue our way. The past is the past and the future is uncertain. What it counts is the present. Now, are you sure, your present's worth that you're here so depressed?"

The brown haired girl took her time to chew the old man's words, but they finally hit her. _It's true. My past might have been a shit, but my present isn't. I've got friends that adore me and someone who really cares. The future doesn't matter. We must live for the present._ As her thoughts deepened themselves in her mind, she raised her head from her hands and smiled to the old man. He took that as a thanks request and took off to his duties again. Just then, her cell phone rang once more.

"Taichi, I'm sorry. I overreacted and…" she stopped as a voice that she knew wasn't Taichi replied her from the other side. "Sora, it's Koushiro. Something happened. A girl is missing and she's on your list, so you better get back here okay?" he spilled the happenings in half minute without even caring if she was listening and hung the phone. Sora immediately rushed out the bar towards the police station.

"Koushiro give me a map of the metropolitan area B3." Taichi's ordered to the red haired. Koushiro picked a map and put it over the desk. Taichi quickly took a glance at it. "I need information about abandoned warehouses and buildings. She has always stroke in those." He said as he scratched things over the map. "Call all unites in the area and around and tell them to search for two girls. The victim is blond around nineteen and is wearing a long purple gabardine. The suspect is about twenty, female, dark eyes and hair. Considered dangerous and possibly armed."

Koushiro immediately transferred the information to a notebook that he hurried to carry to the control centre. Meanwhile, Taichi was on the phone. "Hello. Detective Yagami from homicides. I want an arrest request for Tashibari, Suzume…I don't care that the judge is in a trial now…I need it now. Do it." He shouted to a woman that was on the other side of the line.

In an abandoned warehouse near the subway, Sonja opened her eyes. Her head hurt like hell, but as she tried to reach it, she felt her hands tied and then her feet. Only then she felt that her back hurt her as did her wrists. As she looked around she saw that she was suspended in the air by her hands. A loud scream was heard, as she cried for help in full lungs.

* * *

_And another chapter is up. Hope you've liked it, hope you review and to all who have already reviewed other chapters, thanks._

_By the way, someone suggested me to find an editor who speaks english as first tongue, so if anyone would like to purpose for the job, my e-mail is available in my profile. Thanks._

_Till next time...ja ne_


	15. Chapter 15

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Fifteenth Chapter

A figure appeared from between the shadows that surrounded her. She was scared as hell, but her voice simply didn't come out anymore. She was exhausted and from all the screaming for help, she had completely lost her voice, she could barely speak and to scream was completely impossible. The figure walked towards her. Sonja could see something shining with the few lights that came from a nearby window that was covered with papers and magazines.

"What do you want from me?" she whispered, her voice cracking clearly in fear. Suzume stepped out of the darkness, but her lightened figure was as frightening, if not more, than her darkened one. She was clearly insane at Sonja's eyes. The blond couldn't stop staring at the person that she knew was going to kill her. Her dark eyes sparkled with an absurd madness, longing for her screams, for her death. A new batch of tears assaulted her already dirty face.

Suzume smirked evilly to the tied figure in front of her. After three years of hating and despising, there she was, face to face with her last victim. At that moment she thought of herself as omnipotent. She could do anything, and she would get out of it easily unpunished. She rolled her torture instrument as she raised her dark cold eyes to face Sonja. "They screamed a lot at first." She said as she twisted the knife in her hands. "But then…" a step forward and she almost hit Sonja with it in her stomach, only stopping inches from her skin. "Well, I guess they were too tired."

Sonja felt the blade touch her skin as Suzume travelled it along her legs. Her heart was beating faster than ever. She just wished, her killer would finish her quickly and painless, but she knew she wouldn't. "Sumomo was the one who cried the most." Suzume trailed off, engulfing herself in the fear that exhaled from Sonja. "She kept pleading me to kill her and stop the torture." a sick smile crossed her lips as she thought about the anguish moments of one of her previous victims. "But I didn't, I killed her nice and slowly. Hell, I even stayed to watch as she ran out of blood and it spread across the floor." She laughed as she played with the knife.

"Reika didn't cry, but she screamed." Sonja watched incapable to keep herself from crying again. "Woo. We had a lot of fun; especially when I cut her fingers." Another sick smile and Suzume came dangerously close. Her knife was strongly held in her hands. With a quick gesture of her wrist, she made a cut in Sonja's leg. "You're sick." Sonja shouted. She might be going to die, but she wouldn't give her the pleasure she was looking for. She spitted to the floor, what caused an hysterical laugh from Suzume.

Sora arrived fifteen minutes after Koushiro called her to hers and Taichi's office. The girl that had reported her friend missing was near Koushiro crying while he tried in vain to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. Taichi was over the phone still trying to get the arrest request when Sora rather shyly stepped in. At first he didn't see her and she just remained on the doorway looking at him while he worked. He too was dedicated to his work just like Sora was to hers. She narrowed through his hair, to his face and noticed how young he was, how young she was. The man in the bar was right. She couldn't just throw her life away like that because of one mistake in the pass. The mistake of choosing the wrong guy to date, but deep inside, even if her fear remained at the surface, she knew Taichi wasn't like that guy. He was better, much better. And he cared for her in a way no other man had ever cared for and she loved that. And she also loved him. It was time to admit to herself that she was in love with that messy brown haired cop. He had locked her heart.

Over the phone, Taichi called stupid to the woman that was on the other side of the line. He slammed the phone over the table and hit his head over the desk. When he raised his head, he saw her. She was standing in the doorway looking at him, and her eyes were not showing fear or pain towards him. For the first time, the only thing he could see in her eyes was passion. Pure passion for life and way down on them, he could see love. The love that she had tried to hid. The love that she had for him. She smiled and he smiled too. There were no words needed at the time. And the time itself seemed to have stopped. "We go without a warning." Her words were like a breeze of fresh air in the room. Putting aside everything that had happened in the past hour, Taichi picked his coat and both he and Sora left the office, in search of the young girl, Sonja that desperately needed their help, or the help of anyone in the surroundings.

They started to search around the subway station where she usually got the metro, according to her friend's information, but she wasn't there. In fact, there weren't many people around at all. They stopped to talk with the girl in the tickets cabin. Sora held her identification card in front of the window along with a picture of Sonja. "Have you seen this girl?" she asked in a demanding voice, not kindly at all. The woman eyed her a little angry. She put down the fingernail's rasp that she was using to do her manicure and stopped chewing her gum. "No, I haven't." she replied in a bored tone. Sora, though, knew this kind of employees. She walked to the back of the cabin and knocked. There was a sigh and seconds later the door opened. She stuck the piece of paper in front of the woman's eyes and asked again. The woman sighed.

"Well, yeah. She was here very earlier and bought a ticket." Sora thought for a while. _She was here and now she's not, but she didn't catch the metro because it was stopped due to mechanical troubles. Then…_ "And after she was here, was there any other woman?" she asked. The woman was getting rather annoyingly as she kept chewing her gum without showing the sliest interest on what was going on. She looked at her fingernails and then to Sora. "Yeah, there was another girl. That one was spooky."

Sora sprinted to where she had left Taichi to speak with a cleaner. He looked at her and she nodded. He thanked the man that had been very polite and kind and left after her, both running. "Koushiro have you got the data that I asked for?" Taichi spoke to the intercommunication device in his car, while he drove. "Yeah, I've already sent the coordinates to your GPS." The red haired guy replied from the other side of the line.

"Good." Sora said as she checked on the computer for the coordinates. "The closest to us is in the next street. Just turn to left in the next crossing." She informed Taichi. Then she picked the communicator. "Hey, this is Detective Takenouchi. Send unities to the warehouses on the red and pink areas, we're on the blue one. Don't forget. She is dangerous and considered armed. Be careful all unites. Who finds them is to communicate immediately and wait for us. Do not enter, I repeat, do not enter in contact with them, unless the victim's situation asks for an immediate intervention. Over." "Understood, central over and out." Koushiro's voice replied from the other side.

Meanwhile, Taichi had driven all the way that separated them from the blue dot. It was a common warehouse. "You know, if they demolished the abandoned warehouses and buildings, the rate of crime would decrease." Taichi said with a smirk. They both were in the car. Sora had already jacked into the warehouse's plant. "Okay. We have two doors, one in the back and the other in the front of the warehouse. But the back door is jammed since 1989, so that leaves us one door." Sora explained. "The windows are too high. There are also three separated rooms that we need to check up."

Taichi looked at the plant and then to the building. It was a large warehouse painted of grey, but due to the snow the roof was now white. Part of it seemed ready to collapse. He looked again to the plant. "Can you get a side look?" he asked. Sora clicked a few keys and the plant rose in perspective, showing a window in foot range. "Okay, I get the door and you go through the window. Keep you com on. We meet here." He said pointing to a spot in the middle of the warehouse.

Then, they both left the car, having careful not to be spotted. Each with its gun on hand, they nodded and started to snoop into the building. Sora looked for the window in the left side of the warehouse. She tried to push it open but it was closed, so she ripped a tool from her coat and forced the window open. Then she smoothly got inside causing the lowest noise she could. The building was full of spider webs and a rat crossed her path right in the moment she was going to open the door. She had, after all, entered to the bathroom. There was a fetid smell to rotten and urine. She turned the handle of the door and looked outside. As she saw nothing, she opened the door in a quick movement and got out, leaning against the nearest wall, but not touching it. She closed the door again and continued her way, her gun down next to her leg.

Taichi turned the handle on the door, but it didn't open. He tried to knock it silently pushing it and the hinges gave in. He popped into the abandoned warehouse. It was rather dirty and that made him think that possible they weren't in the right spot, but he kept going anyway. He had to check it out. Next to the hall there was a huge corridor with windows to the rooms inside and there were several doors. He leaned against the wall, holding his gun with both his hands next to his face, his knees slightly bended. He took a brief look into one of the rooms and then rolled over the floor to the next covered position. Near him there was a door. He turned the handle and opened it.

The crimson eyed girl looked around amazed by the machinery around. That was an old shoe's warehouse, but the machines around weren't to make shoes or even to keep them. Now she was beginning to notice how helpful updating classes could be. That had been an illegal factory. The warehouse was just a façade. But now it was rusty and dirty.

She advanced a little further, being careful not to step on anything. She too was beginning to think they were in wrong place. Suddenly something rolled next to her feet. She looked down and sighed relief when she saw another rat. Even thought rats aren't the most pleasant animal in the world, they are much better than murders. The room was clearly empty. She walked around looking for another door, but all she could find was the door that led to the bathroom. The fact was that the small room, contrasting with the large warehouses' rooms, must had a secret way in and she was in no mood to search for it, as she continued to convince herself that the building was empty.

Her hands flew to her com. "Did you find anything?" she asked. For seconds the only response she had was silence. Taichi had rolled again to the next covered spot and looked into another window to see the place completely empty. He then picked his com. "No. You?" "Nop." She replied. Relaxing for a bit, his contracted muscles, Taichi allowed his gun to rest on his belt again as he stood and stared at the room. It looked a lot smaller than it should in his point of view. "Then, meet me outside, okay?" "Yeah."

Sora quickly returned to the nauseous environment of the bathroom where a large hairy spider climbed over the sink. She put her gun back in its place and climbed through the tub over the window. Meanwhile Taichi made his way back to his car, still intrigued by the fact that the rooms seemed smaller. He waited for his partner to arrive and eventually a couple of minutes later she did. She was covered in dust from having gone through the window. She dusted herself off and looked up to him. Taichi then saw a mark on her face and rubbed it off with his hands, making Sora shake at his touch. He quickly retrieved his hand and entered the car. Sora stood outside and touched with her gloved hands the spot where he had touched her. She smiled and got into the car as well.

"You know," Taichi started, changing the subject to smooth the environment. "I found that warehouse a little odd." Sora looked puzzled at him but then she acknowledged what he should be talking about. "Yeah, it was used to illegal work for illegal immigrants. The window led to a bathroom that was connected to a room full of machinery, but the room itself hadn't any other door. It must have had a secret door, but I couldn't find it." She replied. "That explains a lot." Taichi replied as he started the engine and drove again. He glanced over to Sora and their eyes met, making them turn their gaze away.

Sora picked the car com. "Central, this is Detective Takenouchi. Do you copy?" she asked. "Sora, this is Koushiro." "The warehouse was clean, well, not clean in the proper sense but you know what I mean." She chuckled. "What about the pink and the red team?" Koushiro took his time to reply. "The pink team is clear as well, but the red team hasn't reported yet." He informed. "Okay, then we're going to see what's going on with the red team. Over and out." Sora replied to Koushiro and then turned to Taichi. Once again he only nodded as he made a hundred and eighty degrees turn and drove to the red spot on the navigation computer system.

They arrived there ten minutes later due to a truck that had jammed in the high way. Taichi parked his car next to the other two unites that had their cars stopped next to another near collapsing warehouse. They stepped out of the car and walked over to the two stopped police cars to see them empty. Both Taichi and Sora exchanged confused looks. Sora picked her com. "Detectives Takenouchi and Yagami here. What is your current position red team? Over?" she spoke into the communicator but the only response they had was silence. "What's going on?" Taichi asked her, stepping out of one of the patrol cars. "They were supposed to have waited for us, but I guess they didn't." Sora replied. "Let's get in."

The couple advanced cautiously next to the building. "This time, we better stick together." Taichi said. Sora nodded in agreement. They stood by the doorway both with guns in hand and leaned against the wall. Taichi raised one finger, then two and at three he opened the door and Sora got in, pointing her gun to possible danger. She motioned Taichi to get in, and so he did. They advanced cautiously. Taichi had seen the plant of this building. It was a simple one, no plant at all. It was all open space. The problem was that it used to be a warehouse where they stored wood so there were high shelves where the wood was pilled on, which blocked their view.

They continued carefully ahead through the maze that had been created. Sora could feel her heart beating faster and faster in adrenalin. That was a sensation that, though not quite pleasant, she loved to feel. It was the feeling that told her that she was alive. As long as her heart was able to beat like that, she knew she wasn't defeated yet. She looked over to Taichi. Though the day was beaming through the windows, the darkness inside was still blinding them. From him, she couldn't see more than his shadow, except when the light coming from the windows reflected over his figure. His hair shined brightly as his eyes when he too looked at her. He too could barely see her, only a shadow, except for her fiery eyes that glow in the darkness of the place.

His mouth moved in words shape, but Sora couldn't quite understand what he was saying. She gave him a confused look, illuminated by the light of the window under which they were passing. He looked around and walked over to her and whispered to her ear before he got back to his place. Sora remained calm on her place as she simply gazed at him. He had definitely stolen her heart.

She moved further, and as she did, she saw something on the floor. Taking a closer approach, she saw a cop lying on the floor. She checked for his pulse. He was still alive, but barely. She looked to his chest where a bullet had made her way through his clothes. _The bastard wasn't wearing protection._ She cursed mentally. She picked her com once again while Taichi approached too to see the man's condition. The bullet had fairly missed his heart for inches, of that he was sure, but he was bleeding badly and his breathing was being affected. He had gone unconscious; it was hard to say if he was going to survive.

"Central, this is blue team. We need back up and medical support. One man down, the rest of them is still missing. I repeat: we need back up and medical support." Sora's low voice spoke into the com. "This is Central, Officer Izumi as assembled three unites and they are on their way. Medical support is also being contacted. Central Over and out."

"They're on their way." Sora said to Taichi. He nodded and looked around, but just when he spotted someone on the top of one of the shelves, he saw the metal glow of a gun. "Take cover." He shouted as he threw himself over Sora and they both rolled out of range. They remained with their heads and bodies down, supported by his feet, with their knees bent. Taichi took a shot and peeked to the spot where he had first seen the shooter, but if it was there, he had take cover as well. "It must be Suzume." Sora replied. The brown haired nodded. "I'm going to try to get to the other side. You go to this side and see if you can spot Sonja." He ordered. Sora nodded.

Taichi prepared himself to roll down on the floor again so he could pass to the other side. But just as he was going to do it, Sora held him by his shoulder. "Please be careful." She asked. Taichi was a little surprised by that, but he smiled as he put a reassuring hand over her shoulder. "Don't worry." Sora returned the smile, turned and began to run silently through the corridors, trying to find the girl.

The brown haired guy looked once more to the place where the shooter was, and as he did not see him, he ducked even more and rolled through the floor to the other side. He started running to the opposite side Sora was running, his plan was that he got the killer while Sora found the victim and took her out of there. He stopped when he reached a death end. _Damn, this place has really been turned into a maze_. He thought as he turned away and chose another way. _I just hope Sora has found the girl and has gotten out of here._

On the other side of the building, Sora was also trying to find her way through the maze. _This is weird. Why would she turn this into a maze?_ Sora thought. She couldn't find the reason why Suzume had made the building a complete maze. _After all she wasn't expecting us to catch her. She has been smart. Why would she quit being it now? _"Unless…" Sora gave voice to her own thoughts. "…she knew we were going to catch her this time." _Maybe the order in which she killed the girls wasn't out of purpose, but planned. We couldn't make a sense of things, until the third and then it would be too late for us to find the fourth and if we did it… Hell, she planned the all thing._

As she thought, she couldn't hear the footsteps coming from behind her. Suzume tried to approach her as silently as she could, but when Sora suddenly stopped, she accidentally knocked a box in one of the shelves down. Sora quickly turned around to face her enemy. Suzume found herself in deep troubles. She was hoping to get out sneaking, but the stupid cops separated themselves. She faced the policewoman in her way. Sora held her gun pointed to her. "Stand still." She said.

_Damn it._ Suzume tried desperately to look for a way out. Her gun was on the back of her jeans but if she tried to get her, it would be too obvious and the woman would shoot her. She looked around her as she put her arms up in apparently surrender, just high enough to pick a box above her head. Then she threw at Sora and ran pass her. Sora, though, wasn't even near to give up on her hunt. She quickly pulled the box aside and stood up, running after Suzume. She could see her shadow moving quickly. She seemed to know quite well where she was going.

"**Stop.**" Sora shouted as she ran after the murdering girl. "The place is surrounded. You have no escape." But her words seemed to have no effect on the girl that kept running. After a tough turn, Sora saw a glance of stairs and the normal metallic sound that someone makes when running up a bunch of metal stairs. She quickly started climbing the stairs as well, when she heard a weird sound. It seemed like something was rolling down the stairs, and then she saw a big barrel. She looked around to see her possible escapes, but the stairs where against the wall and the barrel was too big for her to try jump over it when it came. Without any other option, seeing the barrel coming closer, she jumped off the stairs and fell to the ground. She winced in pain as her shoulder hit the floor. She then rolled over herself to stand immediately and started climbing up the stairs again, without noticing her com over the floor. Then she heard a gun shot.

Koushiro had rushed to get out of the traffic that had settled in his way. He drove the car through the cars that had managed to step aside from his way, followed by another two unites. He had assembled the best cops on watch to drive as fast as they could to help the others. Also behind them was an ambulance. When they managed to get to the warehouse, the first thing they saw, were the three cars parked side by side a few metres from the place. He watched the plant of the building over his navigation system and ordered the guys to place themselves in strategic places. _Wow, pity that Yamato isn't here. He would be of much help, being an expert in surrounding buildings and placing men._

After all the men had left, he watched once more the plant, making sure he had placed them in the right places. Just then, as he watched a side perspective of the warehouse he noticed that things were a little changed. He looked at the warehouse and then to the plant he had and noticed that there were stairs on one of the sides that weren't marked on the plant. He picked his com. "Sora! Taichi! Have any of you found the suspect yet?" he asked. "Nop. I'm still searching. Try Sora." Taichi's voice came with a whisper. "Sora? Come in Sora?" But there was no response. Without knowing what to do, he rushed over to the place where the stairs were. He was incautious and did not carry his gun on his hand.

Taichi kept running through the building. He was starting to get really worried about Sora. _Darn it. Suzume must have gone to the other way. _As he was making his way back to where Sora had been, he saw a light coming from one of the ways. He ran over to it, with his gun always in his hands, walking carefully not to make a wrong step. And then he saw someone hanging the middle. As he approached, he glared at Sonja's death body hanged by her neck. He controlled his urge to scream at full lungs. They didn't manage to get there in time. Somehow, the body of the death girl messed up with him more then it should. He picked his com. "Koushiro the victim is dead. Do you copy that?" he asked. Just then he heard a gun shot. His heart shouted.

Sora rushed her climbing over the last few steps that were left. She was on the top of the roof now, but the show that was before her eyes wasn't a pretty one. Suzume was holding her gun, which still had smoke coming out of it, and on the floor, lied a hurt Koushiro. Sora's first instinct told her to rush over next to her friend, but she knew she couldn't just let Suzume ran away. Before the girl knew it, Sora launched herself on the top of her, making her drop her gun. Suzume wasn't used to hand to hand fight. In anger, the brown haired girl, smashed her fist in the dark haired one, knocking her unconscious. After handcuffing her, Sora ran to her friend. Her tears started to fall, as she saw Koushiro holding his stomach. His hand was already filled with blood.

"Oh no! You hang in there, you hear me?" Sora cried as she took off her jacket and put it over the wound trying to stop the bleeding while with the other hand she tried to reach for her com, that unfortunately wasn't there. Without even thinking, she reached for Koushiro's. "Attention, officer down, I repeat, officer down. Medical support on the roof now." She cried into the com, while she pressed Koushiro's wound strongly. He winced closing his eyes in pain.

Taichi sighed, partially relief when he heard Sora's voice, but his face quickly contracted in a worried expression as he heard that an officer was shot. He was glad that it hadn't been Sora, but loosing a profession mate, was always something to regret and he knew many of his mates. But the most worrying fact was that, relying on Sora's voice cracking a bit, he could swear it had been Koushiro. The central had said that he was coming. Though he didn't know Koushiro as long as long as Sora did, he still praised his company and friendship, and it would be a great lost.

He ran out of the building over to the paramedics. They were loading the hurt cop that they had found, and next to him, there was a black bag, where the corpse of another cop lied. He looked over to the building and spotted a glance of stairs. He cursed himself for not having seen them earlier. Pulling the arm of one of the paramedics he started running to the place. "There's another officer hurt, needing medical attention." He shouted as he dragged the man. Understanding the situation the medic motioned two other to bring a stretcher and the right material. Meanwhile another ambulance had arrived, along with a forensic van. Some other cops had already gone into the building to search for the other two officers and the body of the girl.

The paramedics hurried up the stairs, even though that with the stretcher it was a bit complicated, but they managed too. The first thing they saw was an unconscious handcuffed woman in the floor that they ignored, walking towards the couple. Sora was holding her jacket over Koushiro's wound that kept bleeding. Seeing the paramedics, she quickly got out of the way, allowing them to do their work. Taichi followed them and held Sora. They watched as the paramedics put Koushiro over the stretcher and carried him to the ambulance, using compresses that they pressed hard on his stomach to stop the bleeding.

After making sure that Koushiro was in good hands, they hurried to Suzume's side that still lied unconscious on the floor. They stood in both her sides and picked her up, carrying her to the patrol car that immediately took her to the police department where they found her a _cosy cell_ for her to stay until the trial, when an even better equipped one would be her home for the rest of her life.

Later that day, Taichi and Sora were in the waiting room of the hospital where Koushiro was being operated. The doctors had a good prognostic from when he had entered the emergence service. They said that though he had lost a lot of blood, he was still conscious and that was an important step. When they managed to put him in the surgery room and he was under anaesthesia, a female nurse had come to tell them that the bullet had housed itself in the muscle near the traverse colon and so there shouldn't be many complications after the surgery was done. At that moment, both sighed in relief, but now, two hours later, they were getting worried.

"I thought she had said it was an easy surgery!" Sora exclaimed after giving her hundredth turn in the small waiting room. Taichi stood up for the thirtieth time and grabbed her by her shoulders leading her to the chair once more. "Don't worry. If there was something wrong, they would have warned us already." He shushed her, trying to sit her down. "Now, sit here. And relax."

Sora followed Taichi to the chair but unaware to her own consciousness, half minute later she was up again walking in circles in the room. After a good half an hour, the doctor finally came out of the room. Sora stood up in a flash and looked inquiring to the doctor. Taichi too was looking intently at him, with a questioning worried look. Their faces relaxed almost immediately, and Sora sunk in her chair again, as the doctor smiled and gave them a thumb up.

"See, I told you he would be alright." Taichi told her as he took her gloved hand in his, once again noticing her stubbornness in hiding her hands. "Yes. It was quite an easy surgery." The doctor, a young man, though older than them said. He should be about thirty years but some signs of earlier aging were already visible in his face. He wore a pair of squared glasses, which gave him a very intellectual look. Sora raised an eyebrow. _If it was so simple, why did it take them so long?_ She gave voice to her thoughts, and the doctor's response. "Even the more simple surgery can take it's time. There were some complications when the bullet slid to the small intestine. But we managed to remove it, without causing permanent damage, and even the scar your colleague is gonna have, was diminished by the long time we took." He explained with a proud voice on his work.

"When can we see him?" Taichi asked a perfect formal question in these occasions. The doctor's short pose assumed a thoughtful position, as he started at the ceiling unintentionally. "I think more two hours and he will be awake, but you cannot stay for a long time with him. He needs rest." The doctor replied pointing another thing that was clear for them both. Then he turned around and left back to the surgery room again.

Taichi looked over to Sora. He could see her face in pure relief as she allowed herself to drown in the chair that for her tired body could be as good as her own bed. Seeing her tired features, Taichi decided that a coffee and of course, lunch, that they haven't, after all, taken, besides needed, was deserved. "Let's go the cafeteria and grab something to eat. I'm starving." He said. Sora nodded in agreement as she stood up. In those brief moments during the lunch and the ones that followed it, none of them reminisced again, the fact that early in the morning had made one of them completely speechless and the other tormented once more.

Early in the same morning, Yamato and Mimi were side by side in his bed. Yamato had his hand over Mimi's belly in a somehow protective form. He watched Mimi's sleeping features as she breathed in and out in a constant and peaceful sleep. Though it was already noon, he did not dare waking her. He knew how tiring the day before had been for her and he did not wish to make her stop whatever dream she was having, that made her smile so often, during the sleep.

He almost could feel his child in her belly. He was happy now. Very happy, because he had no more doubts about his marriage with the woman that carried his child. He had settled that she was the only one he would love for now and forever. After all, I could he possible deny loving such a beautiful and enchanted woman. She was intelligent, smart, thoughtful, kind and sincere. And she had also beautiful features. Which man would not want her by his side? She was everything he could ask for. She would certainly be such a lovely mother and wife as she was a girlfriend. _What could go wrong?_

Mimi turned and hugged him. Even if she had done it several times, during their nights together he still couldn't help to blush, and a slight pink spread across his pale face. He turned to face her. His hand slowly moved to her face and removed a lost thread of her brown hair behind her ear. Another smile spread across her angel face. And a word came out of her mouth. Yamato just remained in his previous position, completely in shock. His fingers still lingering in her hair. He removed his hand in slow motion as he also put his feet to the other side of his bed and stood up. Thousands of thoughts crossed his mind. The first one told him to wake Mimi right there and demand explanations, but his rational part would not allow him to talk to her in a moment of shock in which he was imbibed now.

He sat on the couch of his spacious house, legacy of being from a rich family. His hands covered his darkened face. He couldn't think right now. He had to calm himself and start thinking clear. But that word, that name stuck in his mind, banging in his ears, he couldn't ignore it. He grabbed his hair with strength and breathed in and out, until his accelerated breathing came to a paused calm one. He should wait for her to wake up, and think about it meanwhile. The fact that Mimi was perhaps in love with another man hit him strong, but not as strong as he thought it would. Should it be because perhaps he had small hints that she was?

He lied on the couch staring at the ceiling. _The whole idea of marrying was mine. But even I wasn't sure about it. The child was my trigger. I was only thinking about the well being of the child and not thinking that Mimi could ever possibly not be happy with me, like I thought I couldn't be happy with her. I purposed to her. Maybe she was afraid to say no, for me and the child as well. But I cannot marry her, knowing that she's in love with other, especially being him who he is. How can this be happening to me. And all because of a little mistake._

As the thoughts floated in his troubled mind, he didn't notice Mimi coming from his room, a rope around her slender figure, standing in the shadows, watching him. She did not make a sound, as she just watched him there. Her thoughts lingering in his beauty, both interior and exterior. He had an amazingly well built body. He had all the right muscles. Not the kind of bully in school, but like a sportive guy. And his blond hair contrasting with his beautiful eyes made him a very attractive man. But what had first captivated her was his personality. Though a lonely guy, he had a strong personality. He loved his brother and cared for him more than anything else in the world. He also cared for his friends and always knew the right words to tell them to cheer them up.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Unaware to her presence, Yamato stood up and walked to the phone, to see Mimi's hand picking the speaker and attending the call. "Jyou!" that was certainly a name that caused him some troubles right now, but as Mimi's face turned from slightly surprised to shock and then relief, his thoughts wondered to the reason of the call, more than the person that had called.

"What did he want?" Yamato asked. His voice was rather cold still and Mimi noticed it. His face contracted all his muscles trying not to look irritated or annoyed by any matter, but Mimi was a psychologist after all, and he couldn't hid things from her. "Is something wrong?" She asked him. Yamato made his best angelic face and immediately denied anything that she could possibly be imagining. "No, nothing." he replied. "What did Jyou want? It seemed important by your face."

Mimi launched him a look that told him they would talk about it later. Walking to his room she started to get dressed. "Koushiro has been hurt. Sora and Taichi are in the hospital, right now. Jyou just called because he thought you would want to know about it." She informed him as she slipped into her pants. Yamato just watched how cool she could be with his stares. In fact in the moment that she asked him if there was something wrong, he considered the hypothesis that she had already noticed his jealousy over something that wasn't even confirmed.

He too slipped into a pair of pants, and half an hour later, they were both meeting Taichi and Sora at the waiting room, where both the exhausted cops awaited for the doctors to leave the room, to see Koushiro. This is because, if they wanted to talk to him, they would have to wait for him to awake. The two of them were also almost asleep. Sora had her head over Taichi's shoulder and Taichi had his head over her head, they both leaned to the wall behind their chairs. Taichi had actually started snoring, but acknowledging it, he immediately changed a little the position of his head so he wouldn't. Sora was fast asleep also. After eating, she had fall against the chair. Her head hanging to the wall as she slept. Taichi eventually put her head over his shoulder and fell asleep looking at her brown light hair.

This was how Yamato and Mimi found them when they arrived to the hospital. They didn't awoke them, because besides Yamato knowledge that they should be tired, he thought that scene very cute, since he had never seen Sora sleeping against a guy's shoulder, not even a woman. So it was cute. Mimi giggled and whispered something about having a camera to take a picture of them. Just like magic, but still not quite, Takeru and Hikari appeared, she was holding a bag and he was holding her. They were laughing low all the way there and kissing like two lovers of high school.

Yamato had called them, knowing how close, Takeru was with Koushiro since they had first met. Koushiro admired forensic medicine a lot, and having Takeru as a friend was a bonus he couldn't refuse. Besides, being both of them, extremely intelligent in the arts of criminology they had exchanged theories several times. _It's like the gang is all here. _Yamato thought. Somehow we are all connected to each other.

"Oh, so cute!" Hikari exclaimed as she notice how her brother and Sora were. She immediately took her camera and started taking pictures. Takeru sighed as he sat besides his brother, after greeting Mimi with a kiss on her cheek. "Hikari, do you have to carry that camera of yours everywhere?" he asked in a concerned yet amused voice. "Yeah!" she replied between flashes. Then she put the small machine back in her purse and sat back by his side. "We never know when a scoop is coming directly towards us and we need to take pictures." She replied with a smirk.

"Journalists!" the three replied. Hikari made an annoyed face but ended up laughing as well. Next on the line was Jyou. Porting his usual authoritarian and wise look, with his navy blue hair and his glasses on the top of his nose, he made his appearance in the waiting room as well. After all, he was Koushiro's chief and he cared for him as anyone following his orders.

The first thing he saw where the two blond guys, then Taichi's sister. He approached and greeted them. Yamato watched him carefully as he greeted Mimi. But to his surprise he did the same as he had done to the others, a small shaking hands and a nod. She, though, seemed to be satisfied. There was until he noticed a hint of brightness in both their eyes mix with sorrow and happiness. Somehow, he felt guilty about it.

Only after having sat himself, Jyou notice the sleeping couple. He shook his head disapprovingly to those two officers, but he couldn't help to chuckle to their pacific faces as they slept, both looking like little children. _Finally someone is taking care of you, my child._ His thoughts directed at the sleeping woman figure. A smile spread across her face, and he couldn't help to smile himself. _No more nights in blank with nightmares, then_. _I guess that broom haired of Taichi has made a good job. But if he ever messes up, don't forget that I'm here._

Finally the nurses inside the room left. The doctor was in the end of the line. He smiled as he saw all the people that were waiting. _Many friends I guess. Good for you._ He thought. "You may enter now. He's still asleep. Please two at a time, and don't try to wake him. If he awakes, what eventually might happen, limit the visit please." He smiled and left. Jyou was the first to go in.

* * *

_Oh, I'm so so sorry. There's only two chapters missing,so I'll probably end posting the chapters this weekI hope. My computer it's totally freaked up and it's making me insane just to right this message..._

_Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been reviewing this story. You mean the world to me, because if people don't review, we get the sense that no one it's actually reading and it's pretty frustating. So thanks to all reviewers. I hope you've liked this chapter..._

_Ja ne, minna..._


	16. Chapter 16

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Sixteenth Chapter

It was fairly late in the afternoon, when Taichi and Sora left the hospital. The visit to Koushiro though, had only taken a few minutes. While they were sleeping, Jyou, Takeru and Hikari had seen Koushiro and left. Before leaving Yamato and Mimi decided that they should awake them. They chatted for a little, or better, Taichi and Yamato chatted because Sora was in Koushiro's room and Mimi had gone to get a drink for herself. Between the themes of conversation was the whole process of capturing Suzume, in which Taichi had few things to say. He regretted, thought, the fact that the girl had been killed after all. Suzume had managed to get her revenge all along.

"So, you're saying that she killed the four girls because they ignored her in high school?" Yamato tried to clear his mind. "She can really ask for psychiatric help." The two men laughed. Yamato wondered if he should or should not tell Taichi about his problems, after all his friend had his own, and it wasn't something that he could advise him on, so, eventually, he decided that it was none of Taichi's business, and turned to a theme that he knew would be more interesting.

"How are things with our ice hearted there?" he motioned to the room where Koushiro and Sora talked and smiled hands in hands. Taichi looked at them and couldn't avoid being jealous. "Good." Yamato smirked. "Yeah, I guess so. You two looked so cute sleeping a while ago. It was really a shame awake you." He laughed. Taichi hit him in his shoulder. "Hey, we were sleepy." He argued. "We haven't had much sleep; on the contrary, some people seem to be having more than a fair sleep." Yamato shrank his shoulders. "Well, I've got to take my chance when I can." he said.

Taichi eyed him and laughed at his face. "Oh, c'mon, I was kidding. What about you and Mimi there?" he asked. Yamato sighed. "We're good." The brown haired guy raised an eyebrow, but decided that if his long date friend wanted to talk about it, he would come to him, like he always did. Meanwhile, Mimi came back with a cane of coke in her hands. She took a sip of it. "Do you want some, Yama?" she asked the blond. He only shook his hand, motioned her that he didn't and resumed his conversation with Taichi.

"So, if we don't see each other before Takeru's and Hikari's wedding, good luck." He blinked an eye to him. Taichi eyed him confused, not really knowing what he was talking about. Mimi said goodbye as well and they both left. Taichi then entered the room.

"Have you phone Dai?" Koushiro asked. Sora shook her head. "No, I wanted to be sure you were okay first." She replied. Koushiro smiled. "Yeah, that's better for him. Otherwise he would come running just to see if I was really okay." "He worries about you, even if you didn't speak with each other for a long time, you will always be best friends." She said. A cough from behind them, made Sora turn her head, while Koushiro tried to stand a little more, but he immediately put the idea aside as he felt a sharp pain crossing his abdominal area.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked entering Koushiro's view. The red haired smirked. "That was what I was about to ask. According to my information source, you two were sleeping in each other's arms outside." He couldn't help to laugh even though that caused him another strike of pain. Sora turned her gaze to the ground as her cheeks turned bright red like her eyes. Taichi too was blushing and tried to think of something fast to change the subject. He was kind of pissed that even Jyou had caught them both in such position.

"Very funny. So how do you feel?" he asked. "Great. It's like being ran over by a truck...no, I have a better one. It's like being ran over by an airplane." Koushiro smirked. "At least you're okay." Sora replied. As she did, she couldn't help but yawn. She was really sleepy though. Taichi's shoulder wasn't after all the best of pillows and they had only slept about one hour or so. As the symptom was contagious, without even looking at her, Taichi yawned as well. This caused Koushiro to laugh again. "I think you two, should go get some sleep." he replied and then he two yawned. Taichi and Sora laughed and Koushiro blushed. "I think you too need to get some sleep." Taichi smirked.

The couple started walking to the door. "I come to see you tomorrow. Stay well, Koushiro." Sora said. Taichi waved his hand to him and they both left. They walked silently through the empty hall. Outside darkness was beginning to cover everything again. "Time passed quickly didn't it?" Taichi said as he watched the first snow flocks falling to the already white city. Sora didn't reply, her gaze following his to the darkened city, her mind already thinking what it shouldn't, her voice already failing without an attempt to speak.

The brown haired guy sighed as they exited the hospital. A few more metres and they would be next to his car. He wanted to ask her but he didn't have the courage and he thought that wasn't the proper place to talk about it, so he waited for when she was next to the car. "We need to talk." He said in a whispering voice. She avoided his gaze. "I think I'll walk home."

Sora waved her hand to him and began to leave, but before she was more than a metre away, Taichi grabbed her wrist. "We need to talk." He said again, this time in a more clear and confident voice. She sighed, knowing Taichi as she thought she knew him, he wouldn't give up on business. "You can't keep running away from me." He said. Sora looked straight into his eyes. "I wish I could." Was her simple reply, as she abruptly retrieved her wrist from his grip. She was preparing to leave again, but a pair of strong arms, involved her, pushing her next to his owner. "Not this time." Taichi said. He opened the door of his car, and put her inside it. Outside the snow kept falling.

"Look, I know it must be tough carrying such a burden. " Taichi said, not looking at her. Both their eyes were gazing upon the sky and the flocks that fell on the car. "I… I wanted to say sorry for this morning. It was really stupid of me. I was just surprised you know. I always thought of you as the strongest girl I had ever met and I thought nothing could harm you, but then when you looked at me like that I…I guess, you had all the signs, I mean, you kept your distance from relationships and you hated guys, but I… I just wanted to say sorry, okay?"

Sora's ears couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. _He_ _is saying sorry? I can't believe. He actually isn't mad at me for not having told him. He's such a great guy._ She looked at him, her eyes filling with tears, which she could no longer keep inside. "You're not mad at me?" she asked in a trembling yet hopeful voice. He stared at her wide eyed. "Why should I be mad at you?" Sora's eyes filled with joy as she wiped the tears that had rolled down her face. "I thought you were going to be mad for not having told you before, that night." "Sora!" Taichi grabbed her hands on his. "I would never be mad at you for not having told me that. You should tell me when you were ready. I told you." He assured her. Sora, though, couldn't help but think that, even though he wasn't mad, their relationship was over.

"Are you ashamed of me? Do I disgust you?" she asked, turning her gaze to the snow again, taking slowly her hands from his. Taichi glared at her. He could have never thought the trauma was so strong in her, but then again, she had lived without being loved, of course she would be insecure. He thought about every word he said. One wrong word and he could loose her forever, and he didn't want that. "Sora…the only person that should be ashamed and disgusted with himself was the guy who did it to you. You were the victim, not the criminal. There's no reason for me to be ashamed of you. I'm very proud of you in fact. I had never met such a courageous, bright woman as you. Even after what you've been through, you kept walking with your head high." Sora looked at him, her eyes beaming with love, love for the guy who was saying those lovely words that meant the world to her. "Nothing that happened to you could ever change that, do you understand?"

She nodded, her eyes lightened like he had never seen them. Daisuke had always been supportive to her and also protective. But he had never said words like that, that took a great weight from her shoulders, especially because Taichi was the one she had fallen in love. Her lips moved as she was about to thank him and tell him how much she appreciated his words, along with his company and friendship. But all her plans were abandoned as she heard the phone rang.

Her hands moved quickly to the small cell phone hid in the pocket of her jacket, now blooded due to Koushiro's wound, but she didn't mind at all. Without looking at the screen, staring still at the brown eyed guy, she clicked the okay button. "Hello?" her joyful voice cracked when she heard the voice behind the cell phone. Taichi, who was looking at her, could see her face instantly palling, and her hands started trembling. He remembered the episode at her house. The same crack in her look as she heard the voice from the other side. He didn't need to ask who it was. Unaware to her own will, Sora held the phone, hearing the ghostly voice speaking to her. He laughed evilly due to her silence.

Taichi too, could hear his voice. A voice that made him clench his fists and wish he was face to face with that guy. "Sora, talk to me." The guy demanded in a funny voice. "You're not home. That's sad. I wanted to see you. Speak girl, or did the cat ate your tongue?" Taichi snipped the phone from a frozen Sora, which remained immobile, paralyzed by her teenage fear. The fear that she had always kept just for him, the same one that he loved to feel behind her silence.

"You son of a bitch." Taichi shouted. "Live her alone, or I'll…" he didn't have time to finish as the laugh increased from the other side. "So, she has found someone after all." He said slightly annoyed, Taichi could notice, but still, hiding it very well behind a mocking tone. "Pity! I always thought she would wait for me, **forever**." He said and then the only thing Taichi could hear was the dialling sound.

The brown haired guy remained immobile as well, still surprised by the sudden happening. The silence that had felt among the two was broke by a sudden sniff, and looking over to Sora, Taichi could see tears rolling down her cheeks freely. "He's in my house, Taichi." She sobbed. He hugged her and she allowed it, letting herself feel safe in his strong arms that gave her some comfort and warmness.

"Don't worry. He can't hurt you now." He said shushing her with a soft balance back and forward. "But he knows where I live." She sobbed once more. "Yes, but he doesn't know where I live." Taichi replied in a confident voice. He would do anything to protect her from that man and any other that would try to hurt her. She looked up at him and he kissed her forehead. Feeling his lips over her skin made her warm inside, a warm that she had never felt, but that she liked. Their eyes locked. There was nothing besides them as they drew closer, their lips barely an inch apart. They slightly touched and broke apart again to stare into each other's eyes. Then they both closed their eyes and allowed themselves to be carried by the moment, as they lips met again, in a true love kiss that lasted not too much, but still not little. It was the perfect timing for the perfect kiss. As they broke apart and eyed each other it was like they were looking at each other for the first time and it fell really good. A small crimson spread across both their faces. They weren't ashamed of what they had done. They were ashamed that that kiss had took so long to be given, when they knew, since the first time they saw, they were lost souls who had finally found their match.

There was a moment of silence, as both put their thoughts back in mind after the drifting moment. The silence was interrupted when the engine of the dark Subaru started, guiding the two home. The snow kept falling, but for Sora it had never been such a beautiful day, and even though her life was in danger, she had never been so happy. And when the thoughts of the guy assaulted her mind, she made a vow. _Never back up. Always keep my head high. I'm not going to give up and cry like a baby. Let him come. I'll be waiting for him with a pair of fists ready to kick his ass and make him pay for what he has done to me._

Takeru and Hikari were comfortably sitting on their couch, enjoying their moments alone. The silence that was between them, only to be interrupted by the sound of the television, was one they praised and loved. Their smiles said everything and even someone from the outside would know that they were a happy couple spending quality time together. Their relationship was based over three things: loyalty, truth and sincerity. There was nothing that they kept for a long time hidden from the other. There weren't lies spreading their mortal tentacles over their house, and sincerity was praised over everything, even if being sincere with the other would cause pain. That was their little secret to happiness. Of course they had their fights, after all, who doesn't? But it was the formal fiancées fights that finished with a smile and a forgiveness kiss.

Occasionally they would laugh with the jokes of the comedian on television. Occasionally, Takeru would feel like hugging Hikari a little stronger and smell her hair. Occasionally, she would smile and kiss his arm that was tied across her chest holding her tightly never to let go. Occasionally, they would look each other's eyes, smile and share a small kiss. Not far from the living room where they were, in the closet, two important pieces of vestment stand religiously waiting for the next week. The white long dress in its pink bag, while the formal black tuxedo hid behind the marine blue bag. Unaware to both the lovers, their thoughts rested in the same thing, which was in the closet.

Takeru leaned over Hikari's hair and rubbed his cheek over it, making Hikari giggle. His thoughts suddenly resting over something that proceeded after the wedding. He grabbed her hands that rested on his arms. "So, how many do you want?" he asked, smiling inwardly. Hikari looked up with a confused face. "How many what?" she inquired, doubly. He grinned. "How many kids?"

Hikari released a small giggle as she turned and lied on top of him. She kissed his cheek. "Don't know. How about you?" "If they are all as cute as you, five would do the thing." He smiled. Hikari made a tired look. "Five, that's going to give a lot of work, hon." She grinned. "You naughty girl." Takeru placed a small kiss on her neck that made her giggle. "You're the one thinking naughtily. Giving birth and taking care of five little brats like you, when you were young is going to give a lot of work." She smiled as Takeru hit her playfully on her shoulder.

"Hopefully, they will be like you, always following me wherever I went." Hikari blushed and hit him playfully. "Hey! At least I was following you. Would you rather having me following… Iori maybe?" she said with the most seriously look she could fake. Takeru suddenly fell a little uncomfortable. "You mean Iori Hida, the guy from the flower shop?" he asked. She nodded smiling inwardly to his reaction. "He is very cute and he liked me in high school." She said in a dreamy look. Takeru couldn't believe what he was hearing. "He did?" he replied shocked. Hikari began to laugh. Takeru sighed and resumed that once again she had been playing with him and he had went along. He tucked her under him and smiled evilly. Hikari stopped laughing and stared at his blue orbs feeling uncomfortable all the sudden.

"Don't you dare, Takahashi, Takeru." She threatened him, but she knew it was useless. She had provoked him and now he was up to revenge. The blond intertwined his fingers and put himself ready. She waited for him to strike with a fearless look, challenging him. "Say sorry." Takeru asked. Hikari giggled and shook her head. "No." he started tickling her making her laugh a lot and became red with all the laughing. He paused.

"Say sorry." He warned her by moving his fingers up and down. She grinned. "No." Takeru started tickling her again so hard that she finally gave in. "Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She managed to say between the laughs. Takeru sat on the couch by her side and raised his arms in victory. "I won." He said in a manly voice making muscles. Hikari laughed at how childish their relationship could be sometimes, but she liked it and she wouldn't want it any other way.

Yamato sat on the couch of his house. Having a fiancée living with you, even if it was not full time it had some advantages; one of them was that he didn't need to cook, at least not today, because Mimi had taken completely charge of it. He watched the news in the television. They were talking about the outcome of University killer's case. It was a special report with psychologist and officers that were trying to rebuilt the police path and the girl's sick mind. In the middle they showed some images. It was interesting to see criminal psychologist talk about the traumas of the killer.

"Then this girl's paranoia was built during high school?" the interviewer asked. The psychologist nodded. "Yes, it appears so. She had a lot of anger inside her that she kept while planning the murders, preventing other people to see how unhappy and frustrated she was, and then she released all the hidden feelings while mutilating the victims alive." The interviewer then turned to the screen behind them. In it images of Taichi and Sora at the crime scene appeared. They were trying to get somewhere but the cameras didn't allow them. Suddenly a fist came straight to the camera that was shooting and the image was lost.

"This is Detective Takenouchi." He informed turning to the police officers. "She has one of the most envious curriculum in apprehension and solving crimes, but she also as a record for the most brutal woman in the police department. As we can see here, she smashed with her fist one of our cameras. Chief, can this be admited in the police department?" the interviewer asked. The camera then turned to a man with blue navy hair.

Yamato snarled. "Hey Mimi, Jyou is on television." He could hear her steps coming closer as she stopped behind the couch with a cloth in her hands and an apron around her waist. "What is this all about?" she asked. Yamato motioned her to be quite. "They asked Jyou to comment on Sora's behaviour." He replied with a huge smirk. "She broke a camera." Mimi smiled too. "Well they **can be very annoying**."

"This officer's behaviour does not affect the investigations and in fact, this little "accident" was reported. She herself made a detailed report about it." He said. His voice had a hint of fun, though, he remained with the serious look he could get. "The fact is that both detectives were trying to get to a potential witness, which was being pushed by the reporters. After, and I mention, "after several attempts to make the reporters back off, both of us could see the old lady, she had sixty-five years falling to the ground due to the pushes. Taking a last desperate attempt to move the journalists aside, one of them stuck his camera in front of me, causing to loose the witness. Afraid that we might be loosing some great information, potential important to solve the case, I clenched my fist and broke the camera, making the reporters back off." This was the situation, and due to it, I fully accepted her behaviour." Jyou finished with a grin that he usually didn't have. Yamato smirked inwardly to his chief behaviour, not noticing that Mimi had already left. He could see the face on the interviewer's face. He was truly angry with Jyou that had so tenderly defended one of his.

"But according to our sources this isn't the first time that Detective Takenouchi has this kind of aggressive behaviour?" the interviewer insisted. Jyou though wasn't willing to let him get away so quickly. "I believe the reason that you asked for our presence here..." he said motioning to the other offices, some of them that had participated in Suzume's capture. "…was to clear the citizens about how the suspect was caught. If it is to discuss the behaviour of a single detective, then you must excuse me but I have better and more important things to do, than wasting my time with hypocrite reporters like you."

Yamato was hearing all that and laughing himself out. He knew Jyou was a tough bone to bit but he didn't know he could also be so funny with his comments. The report was immediately interrupted by commercials and Yamato turned the channels to a movie's one where a science fiction movie was one, The Unbreakable. He had seen that movie several times, but like they said, what is good is never enough so he decided to watch it again, at least until Mimi gave him signal to enter the kitchen, that she had forbid him to enter while she was cooking. _Maybe she's poisoning my food and I'm here relaxed watching television._

He stood up and went to peek. But before he could see whatever inside the kitchen, a cute pattern of knifes, forks and other cooking material appeared in front of his eyes. Raising his head from the ducked position he could see Mimi's joking yet angry face looking at him. She had a wood spoon on her right hand and the other part was beating against her left hand, giving her a threatening look. _I'm doomed_. Yamato thought.

"I thought I had told you not to peek while I'm cooking?" she replied to him. Yamato made a surly face. "You made it as it was a criminal act." He replied. "I can't see what you're cooking so I might as well think you are poisoning me." Mimi looked shocked at him. "Poisoning you? If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't have to dirt my hands, honey." Yamato looked at her surprised, fear spreading through his face. "What do you mean?" Mimi giggled at his face. "I mean I have lots of connections." She said.

Yamato looked at her frightened. He was kidding about the poison but could his sweet little Mimi have so many connections to kill him? "You're kidding right?" he asked in a serious look. "Because if you have those kinds of connections, I would have to arrest you for helping criminals." Mimi laughed. "Of course I'm not kidding. Sora would kill you with all her pleasure." She replied walking back to the kitchen motioning him to get in. "She said to me once that if you ever hurt me, she would be delighted to kill you, literally." Yamato relaxed as he sat in the chair at the small table. "Ah, ah!" he said sarcastically. "You're so funny."

Mimi laughed as she put the pot over the table. "No I'm serious." The blond eyed her suspicious. "She really said that?" "Well not quite. She said that if you hurt me she would kick your ass." Mimi resumed. Yamato sighed as he smelled the content of the pot that smelled divinely. "That's so typically Sora." He replied. She sat in front of him. "So what's the secret in here?" he inquired as he peeked into the pot to see what she had been so secretly cooking.

She looked into the pot and smiled. "Well, I wanted to try something different, so I bought a book about world cuisine." She said showing him a small book. He nodded in understanding. _This must be interesting._ He thought. "And this…" she motioned to the food that he had over his spoon. "This is a typical dish from Portugal. Is chicken with rice." She informed him proudly. Yamato glared at the dark rice in his spoon. "Are you sure you didn't put anything wrong in here?" he replied. The rice had a dark colour, almost black. "That's because of the blood." She answered.

Putting the spoon over his plate and looking at the food he focused his attention back in Mimi eyeing her with a disgusted look. "Blood? They eat blood in Portugal? That's disgusting." He said picking the food with the fork. "Whose blood is it?" he asked ignorantly. Mimi laughed. "The chicken's, but I might try yours next time if you want." The blond took a small portion in its fork and tasted it. At first he made a disgusted look but then it turned out in an approving one. "Not bad." He said. "Strange dishes those Portuguese have."

Sora peeked shyly into Taichi's house. He had completely decided that she should stay with him, until they caught the guy. They were going to sue him for molesting and get a court order for distance. Meanwhile, he had offered his spare room to her. She had gracefully accepted. Now standing on his door, she wasn't so sure about it. Taichi hadn't noticed her shyness and had entered and picked a glass of orange juice in the kitchen. Feeling kind of lonely, he looked around no to see Sora anywhere. He sighed and walked to the door with the glass in his hands. He glared at Sora that had not dared to give a step forward standing in the exact place he had first left her in.

"Oh, c'mon Sora. Get in." he said as he pushed her by her arm and made get in. "I don't get you. You don't seem to have any problem entering other peoples' house, or more like breaking into other peoples' houses." He laughed. The environment eased a bit as she two entered the playfully chat. "So funny." She replied as she looked around his house. It was a simple one. Two bedrooms, a bathroom between the two, a kitchen, a living room and an amazingly beautiful landscape over his window. For a man's house it was well decorated in soft tones of pale blue and soft cream and it was clean too.

He motioned her to sit down. "Make yourself comfortable. I didn't do those kinds of scenes at your house." He laughed again. Sora began to enter his mood and smiled. She stood up and walked around. She noticed two frames over a simple shelf with some books about forensic medicine, criminal psychology and other police stuff like How to commit a murder and get away with it? The frame was a blue big one. She could clearly distinguish Hikari, Takeru, Yamato and Taichi himself smirking to the picture while holding each an ice cream. She smiled. The other was of Taichi and his family at his young age. He shouldn't be more than five years and Hikari was still a baby. _A true family._ She sighed inwardly. Her thoughts suddenly rested over something else. She stood there with a thoughtful look.

Taichi, who had been watching her, approached and looked to the frame she was holding in her hands, even though her attention wasn't at it at the moment. "What are you thinking?" he resisted the urge to play with her hair and kiss her cheeks. They had shared one kiss so far and he didn't want to rush things. He knew that might spook her, specially now, she needed a friend, and not a boyfriend.

Sora turned to meet his gaze, her eyes looking at his brown orbs. She smiled as she walked to the balcony and Taichi followed. "I was thinking that when your sister and Takeru got married, you're going to have a strange family." She said. He eyed her confused. "Think about it. You're a criminal detective. Your sister, Hikari, is a reporter but the thing she loves most is murder cases. Takeru is a forensic doctor, and through him you're going to be related to Yamato, that is a policeman as well. And if Yamato marries Mimi, then you would have a criminal psychologist in the family." She finished with a laugh. Taichi only realised how true her words were when she finished. "Yeah, it would be a weird family. And imagine if you join us. Then there would be three cops." He said.

His words had come unthought-of, just slipping out of his mouth but the effect that they had caused was one he had not expected. She smiled a true smile of happiness with his words and a faint blush crossed her cheeks as she turned her gaze to the night consuming outside the glass door that led to the balcony. "Yes, it would be something like that." She replied. She had understood how the words had been sincere coming from his heart and not from his brain. He had not thought of them, they simply slipped. She too controlled the urge to kiss him once more and feel the sweet taste of his lips. She wanted to wait, go easy with calm and not rush into a relationship. She wanted the love inside them grew as they become closer, never to end.

"You know, I have a problem." She suddenly remembered. "Only one?" he joked. She hit him in the abdominal area. "Hey watch it. That hurts. You not a girly you know?" he defended himself. "Yeah, I know. I beat you the first time we met." She grinned. Taichi surly eyed her. "I let you win." He said. "You did not. I can test you anytime you want." She replied. Taichi raised his fists and pushed the couch aside. "But not now." She said. He smiled.

"Okay, maybe tomorrow in the gym?" he dared her. She nodded. "So what's your problem?" the brown haired asked, putting the couch back in its place and sitting. "I don't have any clothes." She replied in a whisper embarrassed. Taichi thought_. Yeah that's true_. "And if we go to your house he can follow us." The both sighed simultaneously. Taichi put his efforts in to finding a solution. "Well, I guess I can borrow you some clothes to hang around the house, but I don't think they would be much appropriate to hang in the streets." He said as he eyed Sora measuring her. "I'm taller and larger than you." He finished. "Maybe if I ask a couple of pants to Mimi." Sora said. "She's getting _pregnanter_ every single day and some of her clothes might not fit her right now."

Taichi nodded imagining Mimi with a big belly. "Yeah, that's the solution. I'm sure she won't mind." He replied. Then he stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Sora followed him, but as she was in middle way he stopped her and told her to sit up. "But… what are you going to do now?" she asked. "Cook of course. What would you like?"

Sora eyed him a little taken back. _He cooks!_ _And by the way he speaks, it makes me think it's not only into eggs._ "I… don't know." She replied. Taichi eyed her demanding an answer. Sora could feel her cheeks becoming hotter by the second. "Huh… cook… your best cooking." She replied. Taichi stared at her for a couple of minutes with a thoughtful look. Then he nodded and entered the kitchen. "Yeah, I think it might be. I have all I need." He said coming back from the kitchen. Then putting an arm around Sora's shoulder he took her to the couch and turned the television on. "Now, you, as my guest, sit here and wait till I call you." "But…" Sora was interrupted. "No, buts." Taichi turned to leave. "But you're doing so much already. I can't let you do all the stuff alone." She argued. Taichi looked at her and grinned. "Okay, then tomorrow night, you cook your best cooking." He replied blinking an eye to her.

Stated that, Sora couldn't do anything besides wait. She allowed herself to get comfortable in the couch and picking the remote control she flipped through the channels until she spotted the news in one. Amazingly to her, the news was about the capture of Suzume. The interviewer was asking questions to a bunch of cops, some of them from her department, and then she saw Jyou as well. She was about to change channels when images of her appeared smashing the camera. Gaining attention on the situation she increased the volume to hear what they were saying.

Back, at Mimi's and Yamato's, they were finishing cleaning the dishes. While Mimi washed them, Yamato dried them with a cloth. He had really enjoyed the dinner, but there was something in his mind, that though, he had thought about forgetting the happening still bothered him. Thinking that he would be better if he just asked her, after cleaning the last plate, he dragged her to the couch where he made her sit. Then with the most serious look Mimi had ever seen him make, he asked her.

"Are you, or have you ever been in love with Jyou?" Mimi was surprised and shocked by the question. During the first minutes she didn't reply. She wasn't expecting a question like that, but she knew he had the right to know the truth. But just before she began speaking he cut her words. "Look, Mimi, maybe we were a little rushed with the marriage thing, you know. If you're not sure about your feelings towards me I can completely understand. But please be true to me in this, okay?" it was a simple question that he was making. And more than anything, Mimi wanted to be true with him, so she answered.

"Yes, I have been in love with Jyou." She could see his anxious look turn into one of slight relief and worrying. "I was in love with Jyou when I first went to work there. But he never replied to my feelings and when I met you, they were completely washed away." She replied. Yamato, though, hadn't much of a convinced face. "Are you sure you don't feel anything about him anymore?" he asked. He wanted her, maybe more than him to be sure of what she was saying. Of course if she had said that she still loved him, it would have been a huge heartbreak, but at least he would know that she was truly happy and he would eventually found his true love, because he believed that everyone has a twin soul, and if Mimi and Jyou were happy with each other then that would mean they weren't soul mates.

Mimi didn't know quite what to answer. She had been sure when she started dating Yamato that she didn't love Jyou anymore, but now he was asking her and she wasn't sure. It was confusing and it hurt her knowing that she might be hurting Yamato. "I don't love Jyou anymore, I'm sure of it." Yamato was silence. His heart told him that he should be relief and that that wasn't anything left to ask, but he's head had stored too many love stories to give up so easily.

"What if Jyou was in love with you now, would you think that that might relight old feelings?" he asked. Only then Mimi understood where the issue had been settled in his mind. "I know that Jyou is in love with me now." She replied to Yamato´s stupefaction. "From the day we started dating; Jyou came to me and told me how he really felt about me. In the beginning I was surprised. I couldn't believe. I put my feelings towards you and him at charge and discovered that I couldn't leave you. Not because that could hurt, but because my heart relied on your side and not Jyou's. That's when understood that I looked at Jyou more like an older brother that I never had. I know where you got the idea. I was dreaming about him last night and I said is name at loud wasn't it?" she asked him. Yamato had an embarrass look on his face.

"Yeah, you did." He replied. Mimi laughed. "I guess we say lots of things while we're sleeping. Well, let me tell you what the dream was all about. My mom and dad as you know are in United States and they're usually too busy to come to see me. I was dreaming that Jyou was taking me to the altar in our wedding and… while looking at you he said: I guess blond guys are cuter after all. I laughed. That must have been when I said his name." she finished. Yamato had never felt so bad in his all life.

"Oh, Mimi I'm so sorry. But I had to know… I was confused… that, maybe, I had pushed you into the marriage when I asked you…" he apologized. Mimi though kept smiling. "I was confused when you asked me too. I mean it's a big step and I thought that maybe you had asked me only because of the baby. But then I began to feel more confident and now I'm sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She said. They smiled lovely at each other and shared a kiss. _Now I'm sure too Mimi._

The snow flakes outside increased their speed as they covered the night once more in a white blanket. A single man stood in his balcony. The sirens of the police cars and the shots that they changed with the mafia next to his apartment, if the hole where he lived could be called that, made him smirk. "I love the gunshots in the night." He said. In his hand a gun rolled through his fingers. He turned back inside where a blond girl lied on his bed, naked. She wasn't crying. She smiled as he entered the room again, even seeing the gun on his hand. He wore a long coat that she quickly took revealing his naked forms. She started kissing him in his lips, but he quickly pushed her to the bed, where he lied on top of her.

Half an hour later, he was in his balcony again and the blond girl was gone. On the floor lied his wallet ripped from every cent he had. Another smirk crossed his face as he pulled his gun next to his face, feeling the cold metal rubbing his cheeks. "Yes, I love the night. It always reminds me of you, my sweet little girl and how we had fun that night." He entered the room not bothering to close the door that led to the balcony. On a small table rested a few syringes and some medicine along with some chargers for his automatic gun.

He lied on the bed again; the sheets cold again with some blood on them, but that didn't bother him. He could only think of her. His mind was completely focused on his task. He knew he had to have her once again. No one besides him could have her, especially some cop. He had marked his territory and she would always belong to him. "You might have just signed the death certificated of your **_friend _**my love." He said at loud. Though his words would look like the words of a drunken man he was sober than he had ever been in his entire life. The only taste he wanted was the taste of her sweet lips again. "Tomorrow will be a brand new day."

* * *

_I came to notice that I have something against blond girls since I tend to turn them into bad girls. Oh, well..._

_Hope you've liked the chapter, as always and that you'll review, cause I'm waiting impatiently for those reviews. One chapter to go..._

_Sayonara!_


	17. Chapter 17

**Fighter**

**By **

**Marie Darkholme**

Sixteenth Chapter

The evening of the following day, arrived in a flash. Sora and Taichi were all smiles and hugs during all day. Some of her oldest partners that had asked kindly to have a new partner were completely amazed the changes that one man had provoked in her. They had never seen her laugh or smile or anything like she had done that day. The couple was obviously to everyone's eyes discovering each other in their own way as friends, though.

The snow had stopped in the morning and since than it had never fallen again, much for their happiness. When, later in the evening, Taichi and Sora entered his house, besides carrying some stuff that Sora had asked Taichi to bought for her cooking that night, she had also a bag with a new jacket since her old one was ruined with blood and the one Taichi had lent her reached under her ass. Not that she mind that, but the fact that the sleeves had to take two folds annoyed her a little, so she bought a new jacket.

Putting down the bags in the kitchen, they both sat exhausted on the couch. "Huf! Filling all those damn papers almost gave me a heart attack." Sora said. Taichi laughed at the comment but he too was tired, not physically of course but mentally. They had been all morning along with half the afternoon filling papers to the court for Suzume's trial. The girl was really crazy. Only in the first night over the jail, she had already attacked two cops and hurt her room mate. A girl convicted for being busted stealing weapons in an armoury store.

Sora turned to meet his eyes. "You know, I have to thank you." She said. Taichi yawned and turned to her. "For what?" he asked. "For everything. I mean, you're always so kind and thoughtful of me and you help me all those times." She said kind of daydreaming. The brown haired guy smirked. "Yeah, I guess I'm the coolest." He playfully said. Only then he noticed Sora leaning over him and then the touch of her lips over his. He could feel his cheeks burning as she watched his reaction. "Thank you." She said and then smiling she left to the kitchen.

Taichi remained in the same spot not knowing what to say. She had kissed him. He hadn't kissed her first; it had been her that had kissed him first. _That means…that she likes me, she really does._ A faint blush crossed his cheeks again and a smile sketched in his face. The smile of a child when you give her the present that she had been wanting since ever. "**Life is beautiful!**" he exclaimed as he leaned against the couch and allowed his thoughts to divagate through his mind. Thoughts that he had repressed but that he now allowed to come, thoughts of a family.

In the kitchen, the crimson eyed girl was repressing herself for what she had done. She wanted to kiss him so badly that this time she didn't have the strength to stop herself from doing it. _He has been so good to me. After Daisuke left, I thought I would be miserable without his friendship, but the truth is that when I'm with Taichi I completely forget about it. And even if I try to play hard on him, I can't. He's such a gentleman. He never forced me into anything and he really cares for me._ She sighed inwardly like teenagers do when they see their crush passing by them. _I guess there is no point fighting the way I feel anymore_. "**Life is beautiful!**" she replied at loud as she started cutting the ingredients to dinner.

The two love birds, each one in their own private mind were thinking at the time practically the same thing. Taichi had always wanted to have a family, children, a wife, so his thoughts travelled faster to those kind of things, while Sora had always dreamed about her enchanting prince, even in her darkest hours, she would think that one day she would fall in love for the prince that would save her and in fact, he had done it several times now. Her thoughts travelled about having the family that she had never had. Having a sister like Hikari and a brother like Takeru, a man that respects and loves her. Somehow they were thinking synchronized. While she kept daydreaming and cutting onions, Taichi remained slumping in the couch daydreaming as well.

Outside, unaware to their attention, the snow had begun to fall again. A man in the darkness moved closer and closer to the door of the building, holding a smirk on his face. His brown dark hair with some black strikes waving to the movement of the wind that blew. He stepped into the building and uncovered his face.

The door bell suddenly rang, awaking the couple from their dreams. "I'll get it." Taichi said as he stood up and walked towards the door. Sora smiled in the kitchen and continued with her cooking. The brown eyed guy walked to the door and unlocked it. His movements a little slow from the sleep that had consumed some seconds on his mind as he drifted away. As he opened the door, he saw a man standing outside with dark brown hair crossed by black threads with brown eyes amazingly similar to his. Just the simple fact that he was smiling made a shiver cross Taichi's spine. "Yes!"

Back in the kitchen Sora begun to walk towards the door also. Something in the back of her mind, told her that this wasn't right. She could hear Taichi's voice coming from the door. "Are you Yagami Taichi?" the man asked. Taichi raised an eyebrow. _Wait a minute. I know this voice from somewhere_. He thought. Sora too had heard the voice and it had sent a cold shiver down her back as well. Suddenly the wind seemed to be blowing inside the apartment; in part it really was, because there was an open window. "Yes, I am" Taichi replied. Almost at the same time, he could hear Sora shouting. "Close the door." He looked to the man before him and saw him grinning mischievously.

"No!" Sora screamed, racing to the door as fast as she could, just in time to catch Taichi's body before it hit the ground. She held his body inches from the ground, kneeling due to his weight. He was cold, very cold, but as she looked for the thing that had hit him, she couldn't see anything. She stared at the brown striped haired man that stood by the door. Amazingly to him, her eyes didn't show what he had expected to seen.

"**What have you done to him, Kouji?"** she shouted at the man. Kouji smirked, even a little taken back by her anger outburst. He had expected her to fear him more than ever. In his hands he held a syringe. He had been so fast sticking it in Taichi's arm that the brown haired guy hadn't the chance to fight it back. "Oh, nothing special… I just gave him a strong immobilizer. He won't be able to move in the next few hours." He smirked. Sora turned her attention to Taichi again. Only then she noticed his arm bleeding. She immediately ripped a part of the cloth she had and applied on it, then she dragged him from the door to a place that she thought more secure. She was worried about his safety and not getting Kouji this time. She heard the door close but she didn't mind.

"Taichi can you speak?" she asked him, some tears rolling down her cheeks. He opened his mouth but the serum made any move hard for him and he couldn't speak. Not seeing any damage besides his arm, she turned her attention back to the man that she had feared for so long, but that she no longer feared. She faced him. He had pale skin, a long grey coat covering his body. Underneath it, she could only see his pants. She knew he was hiding something from her eyes. She thought as quickly as she could. Her gun was in her temporary room and Taichi's gun was on his. Going to the kitchen to get a knife could result dangerous for Taichi, but if she risked for a hand to hand combat, she was sure he wasn't going to play clean.

Kouji stood motionless watching the woman that he loved in such a sick twisted way. "You've grow up." He replied as casually as talking to an old friend in the street. She didn't give him the lust of seeing her fear and stood her ground. "I'm gonna lock you away, Kouji." She replied coldly in her old way. She could see his smirk as his hair waved around with the wind coming from the open window. She could feel her own hair waving with the wind. She was just expecting for him to move and then she would fall hard on him.

The man looked to the open window and then to Sora once more. His hands travelled smoothly to his coat, but Sora was seeing his every move. Inwardly she smiled, thinking how stupid could he be, trying to trick her like that. He gave a step forward but she stood her ground. Then he moved closer and closer. Her thoughts travelling fast again. _He wouldn't have so much of a trouble just to kill me. He's hiding something. But why didn't he kill Taichi?_ The answer to all her questions relied on that man before her.

Suddenly he moved faster and tried to hit her. Sora avoided the weapon by fair centimetres and was able to see it. It was another syringe. It should have the same serum that had made Taichi immobile. She couldn't afford to get hit by it or it would be her end. Kouji smirked. "You want to play rough?" he kind of stated asked. "Anything to stand up to you." she replied. She knew him, and criminal psychology had helped her to know better how to get to the weak points of guys like Kouji.

"It won't be as easy as last time." She said. He grinned. "But it would end like last time." "At least this time, I'm not afraid of you anymore, and that gives me advantage." She replied. Her voice had been rather playfully. She could feel his smirk fading. People like him fed over the fear that the victim had for them. "And this time, you will be the weak one when I'm through with you." She smiled widely in her position. Kouji was getting annoyed by her words. Every one of them hit him psychologically. He wouldn't stand many like that again. He would strike again before she could say anything else, so she continued. "Because you're weak Kouji. That's why you do this, you want to feel that you're in control of everything, dominating and manipulating your victims because you know you're weak. Otherwise you wouldn't have brought that serum with you. You know that I'll beat you and you're afraid."

With a glare and a scream of rage, Kouji raised the syringe in his hands and ran towards her. Sora avoided him, bending down and rolling out of his way. Pushing a lamp from his way, Kouji went after her. She wasn't going to leave the living room. It was the most spacious room and gave her more probability to win the match. He charged on her again and rolling down over the couch, Sora avoided him once more and caught on the way an ashtray that she threw to his head, hitting him square on his forehead.

Kouji winced as he led his free hand to the spot where the ashtray had hit him and saw the blood dripping from it. Sora took her chance and began throwing him books from the shelf by her side. It was the best thing she could get right now, and it was working. _Just a little longer._ She thought. Hitting him with a major dictionary, she took her chance, while he was on the floor, and ran to the kitchen picking one of the knives that she was using earlier to cook. It took her less than five seconds to pick it. She was back just in time to see him stand up and walk over to Taichi. The brown haired was still affected by the serum and wasn't able to react.

"I'll finish you first. I see this is going to be taking a little more time than I had expected." He admitted as he raised a knife from his coat to hit him. Sora ran to him and kicked the knife away that fell near Taichi's feet. Kouji was angry as hell now. He turned his gaze to her again, seeing her armed was another strike to his weak points. Deep inside he could feel himself loosing. He launched himself to attack again, but this time she didn't avoid him. She trimmed the attack with the knife, and kicked him in the stomach making him fall backwards. Unfortunately as she put her foot back down, she didn't see the lamp fallen in the ground and tripped over it. Kouji didn't make himself hard and lied on top of her, striking her with the syringe. Sora winced in pain as the pointing object hit her already injured shoulder. Knowing the danger she was in by getting hit with it, she cut the needle with her knife, making the point got even deeper on her skin. Kouji looked angrily to the syringe and threw it away. He smirked as he saw Sora lied on the ground trying to get the needle of her skin.

"Now, I have just reassured my victory." He said, but looking back he saw that she was still moving a lot in fact. _Damn!_ Sora cursed. _I have to finish him quickly._ She could feel the serum making effect turning her muscles numb, but the quantity he had managed to infect her with, wasn't enough to knock her out just yet, and the adrenalin in her blood was making harder for the serum to work. She didn't bother to stand and rolling over her injured shoulder, not minding the pain, she scrambled his feet and knocked him down. Kouji tried to reach for his gun, but seeing him reaching his coat, Sora punched him on the face, breaking his nose that started bleeding, blinding him with the tears that immediately rolled down his cheeks. He grabbed his nose and Sora took the gun from him. She kneeled and pointed it to him, but before she could get to her feet, Kouji low crawled her, making the gun go flying to the couch.

Holding her knife, she didn't bother to go for the gun. Instead she tried to hit Kouji with the knife on his leg. She didn't want to kill him. She wanted him to rot in prison. He avoided her strike and attacked back, kicking the knife from her hands. Sora could feel her time running out as movement became harder and harder to accomplish. She kneeled just to receive another foot over her face, which made her fly towards Taichi. In mid way she managed to get to her feet and attacked Kouji again, hitting him in his already wounded nose, making him groan. But her movements were becoming slower and Kouji had noticed it. As she was about to punch him again, he held her fist and hit her with his knee on her stomach. Not letting go of her hands, he pushed her by her shoulder, pressing it with all his strength, making Sora scream out in pain. She managed to hit him in his weak spot, but that only made him furious, and pressing her shoulder tighter, he punched her in the face, making her bleed from her lips and fall to the ground besides Taichi, her head turned to his feet, close to his waist.

She closed her eyes and gobbled dryly as she watched him clean his nose with his sleeve and turn to her with a mischievous grin. She tried to get to her feet, but her muscles had become numb. She couldn't even fill any pain anymore; just the feeling that she was loosing again, the darkness swallowing her. The fear coming back again, her memories turning back to when she had last seen that man and the way he had, probably worst than her father, ruined her life. The screams. She closed her eyes and tried to cover her ears not to hear the screams in her head, her screams as she felt him touching her. "**No!**" she screamed, opening her eyes, just in time to see Kouji coming towards her. Not really knowing why, her hands went to the back of her head and found an object. Not thinking, she picked it and stuck Kouji with it.

Kouji glared wide eyed, not just for the pain, that a knife crossing your chest provoked but also because he had never thought that Sora might actually had the guts to kill him, but then again, she didn't want to kill him. It was a desperate act, for saving her life and the man she loved. He gasped as his mouth filled with blood coming from his injured lungs that no longer could bomb the blood to his body. She had caught him in the right spot, right in the aorta. He stepped back in an attempt to get away, just a reflex move and looked still shocked at the knife that he then retrieved before he fell to the ground, dead.

The brown haired girl had her mouth wide opened and she watched the horror show in complete stupefaction. She had not known that the object she was holding was a knife but even if she had she didn't doubt that she would have done the same thing. After all, it was her life or his. She couldn't just let him do the same thing again and go away unpunished. She glanced to Taichi, that thought paralyzed, had seen everything, but his eyes didn't show shock, but joy, joy that she had killed the bastard. She tried to focus on getting up but she couldn't. The serum had finally taken effect and right now she couldn't even speak. She was half forced to watch the blood from Kouji's body cover the carpet that Taichi had on the floor. She had no more choice than to wait until the serum's effect was over, what eventually happened, first to Taichi and then to her.

As the brown haired watched the mess that his house was, after the cops had already arrived and took the body he couldn't help making a funny comment. He and Sora were sitting in the ambulance outside while the paramedics measuring their blood pressure and took some blood for analyses and other stuff, like proving they had really been drugged. "You could have thought of a way to kill him without ruining my carpet." He said. Sora eyed him surprised by the sudden comment, a little embarrassed and confused.

"But…" "No buts." He interrupted quickly. "That had been the first carpet my sister had given to me when I first move in." he replied. Catching his playfully tone, she couldn't help to smile as she went along. Putting an arm around his shoulders and leaning her head on them, she murmured. "I buy you a new one." Taichi smiled and kissed her forehead putting an arm around her shoulders as well. Then he kissed her cheeks, and finally he kissed her in the lips. They continued kissing each other lost in the sweetness of each other's embrace and love.

They were interrupted by a laughing cough and as they looked to see who it was, they saw Yamato. He and Mimi were hand in hand watching as the two of them kissed. Sora blushed slightly but Taichi was rather annoyed by his friend having interrupted the best moment that he had had since the day before when they had first kissed like that. Well, a little less, but it still was their first kiss, since the first time, he had only been him to kiss her.

"I see you're two are busy so we'll come back later." Yamato said turning away with a smirk, but Mimi pushed him with a grin as well. "Yama!" she warned him. He sighed and turned to them again. "We came to see if it was everything okay." Mimi said in a stern tone. Sora smiled at her friend's kindness. "Yes, everything is okay now." She replied meeting Taichi's eyes. He simply kissed her once again.

Yamato turned his head, pretending to be disgusted. "Mimi lets get out of here." He said. Mimi glared at him. "I think I'm going to be sick. I'm not used to see Sora being so…" he didn't have the time to finish because Sora stood up and punched him making him step twice back. "What was that for?" he replied rubbing his injured cheek. She smirked. "Now you're not so sick anymore, are you?" she replied, making Mimi and Taichi laugh, but there were also more two people laughing.

"I can't believe you really did that, Sora." Takeru replied trying to contain himself from laughing at his older brother's face. Hikari quickly walked over to Taichi to check if he was okay. Then without anyone noticing she murmured to him. "I guess you had better luck this time, huh?" he nodded and Hikari hugged him. "Don't forget to bring her to the wedding." She replied with a smile.

"Well, Sora is after all still Sora. The same hot tempered as always." Yamato replied. This caused Taichi to stand with a serious mean look on his face that Takeru and Hikari recognized. "Don't speak badly about my girl." Taichi replied pushing Sora over to him in a protective way. Yamato backed off with a scared look. "Look it was just a joke okay? Please not the nose." He pleaded covering his nose. Everyone started laughing at the scene.

----

"Do you, Takeru, accept Hikari to be your wife?" the priest asked in his casual voice that Sora thought so boring. She couldn't actually believe that she was in a wedding, something that she had sworn not to see ever. But there she was, and taking the priest boring addresses she loved it. Especially because she had someone very special besides her.

"Yes, I do." Takeru said grinning. He and Hikari were in the most important moment of everyone's wedding, the yes part. "Do you, Hikari, accept Takeru to be your husband?" "Yes, I do." She replied. From the corner of her eye and due to her good hearing, she had captured the sound of a joyful sob coming from where Mimi was. She eyed her from the corner of her eyes. She had a beautiful dress, pale pink that matched her lips' colour perfectly.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest said. Sora turned her attention to the wedding again. "You may now kiss the bride." She watched as Takeru slowly took Hikari's veil, uncovering her face. Their hands met and then he sweetly kissed her. A small kiss but with all the love it could possibly carry. The people around raised from the chairs and walked outside waiting for the couple to leave the church so they could throw rice on them. Sora had always thought throwing rice was a waste of food, so she had brought instead, a small basket with rose petals, and some other flower's petals to throw at them. Taichi had thought it had been a wonderful idea, knowing that his sister has always thought of throwing rice a stupid costume.

As they walked outside he allowed himself to stay a little behind to see his little, not so little anymore sister. She had a beautiful dress. It was white like most of the wedding dresses, but it was a quite simple design. It was sleeveless and tied behind her neck with a cute little ribbon with long points that felt to her naked back. The dress covered her chest completely but in the back it started only above her waist. In the middle of her back it had a stripe as well. The rest it was long to her feet, touching the ground slightly, rounded and had from her waist some stripes falling along with the dress that made him look very cute. The veil was a simple one too, held in her head by a hair clip.

He sighed once more. She had finally married. Since the first time he had caught her and Takeru or T.k. as they called him when he was little, kissing in the garden he knew that they would marry someday, but the thought of it had just never hit him as today. His father was dead and his sister was the only family he had left and now she was going away. Nevertheless a smile crossed his lips knowing that she would be perfectly happy with Takeru.

His gaze turned to the exit of the church where Sora was waiting for him. She too was very pretty. As for him, she was pretty in every clothes she wore but that dress made her look even more beautiful. He almost could see her surprise when at the end of another working day; he had appeared with the dress as a present for her. She had been delirious over it. He had to thank his sister for it, as it was her choice. Of course he had helped but women are more into choosing clothes and Hikari had a great fashion sense.

She wore a crimson dress, completely matching her eyes with long sleeves that covered her hands and her feet. Though it was a winter dress, it still didn't covered her neck as it felt to her shoulders leaving them uncover. For that, Hikari had also found a solution and made Taichi bought a long black scarf that Sora wore around her neck falling to her back.

Sora turned to the exit and saw Koushiro struggling to find his way through the crowd of people with his walking cane. The pain in his abdomen had decreased the last few days, but walking was still painful and hard for him, so the doctors had told him to walk with a cane for a few weeks to diminish the strength that he eventually had to make over his abdominal area to walk.

Her attention moved from the guests over Hikari's wedding to her friends. Yes, her friends. She had known too well the word alone and the thing she wanted most after Taichi was having friends. And she had lots of them. She had never given so much importance to having company and someone by her side as she gave now. Taichi was her everything and she knew she would turn mad if she lost him. He was the most charming guy she had ever met in her life. He had been there for her all the time, even when she continually pushed him away.

She turned around to meet his eyes that gazed upon her in radiance, which made her blush as she walked towards him and hands in hands they left the church. As Hikari and Takeru left it as well, hands in hands, covering their heads trying to clock most of the rice that felt upon them, she and Taichi threw them the flower petals, which made Hikari grin as she caught one of them and blinked an eye to her. Hikari was the sweetest girl Sora had ever met, much like her brother. She understood people like no one could, not even Mimi, even though that is her work. Mimi searched for the psychological signs that she had been taught to, but Hikari deepened her analysis in people's heart and she always managed to get something from them. Sora had never seen a relationship between brother and sister like theirs and she envied it, even though, Hikari already considered her as a sister.

The day continued without further events. There was lunch and then dancing. The music started with slow dance as husband and wife stepped into the dance floor and made the first steps of the first dance. Then people started dancing as well. Taichi went to his sister and they danced. Both of them with radiant faces. Sora remained watching. Though she had kind of buried her old lonely self, she wasn't much of a dancer and she didn't want to dance at all. She was happy by watching the others on the dance floor.

Hikari leaned her head on her brother's chest with a smile, looking behind him towards Sora. She grinned. "Go and ask Sora to dance." She demanded her brother. He eyed her. "She said she doesn't want to." He replied. Hikari hit him in the chest with an angry look over her face. "Hey!" he complained. "Go ask her." "Okay, okay, I'll go." He said, returning Hikari to her husband and walking towards Sora.

He sat by her side and gazed her while she watched people on the dance floor. He then kneeled and coughed to make her turn her attention to him. She immediately blushed seeing him on the floor. "Taichi! What are you doing? Stand up." She replied. But he didn't. Grabbing her hands in his he cleared his throat. From her dance spot Hikari watched everything and even Koushiro had turned his attention to the couple, curious about what Taichi was about to do. "Do you give me the pleasure of leading you in this song?" he asked puppy eyeing her. She giggled. "I told I can't dance." "I'll teach you." He replied standing on his feet, with her hands on his pulling her up. "But…" Sora argued. "Oh, don't be a spoilsport, Sora." Taichi complained.

Contaminated by the song that played and her love's puppy pleading eyes, she agreed with a shy pace towards the dance floor. Taichi wasn't shy at all in the dance floor and though he looked a little clumsy, he wasn't at all. He was in fact a good dancer. Rolling his hands around her waist, he pulled her close to him as the slow song begun. Watching the others, she put her arms around his neck and leaned over his chest. She could feel him breath in and out and the soft beating of his heart. Closing her eyes, she let herself be driven by his slow controlled pace.

Mimi and Yamato were also slow dancing near them along with the young couple. They all smiled at their two friends. "See, it's not so hard, is it?" Taichi mocked her. She kissed him in reply and they stepped away from the dinning room, to the balcony of the beautiful palace like that had organized Hikari's and Takeru's wedding party. The evening was long gone and the light that illuminated the place around was only coming from the room inside. The two simply stared at the sky, which, though very clouded over the winter, this time seemed to have open an exception and the starts were visible in the breaches of the clouds.

Sora rested her head on his shoulder, while he held his hand around her waist still. "It's a beautiful night." He commented. She nodded in agreement. "All nights are beautiful since I'm with you." Sora replied. He couldn't help to notice how romantic Sora was. She should have been hidden that all her life. She should have such dreams about marrying in a romantic spot, meeting her love, but all of them erased from her mind by a single man. But he would never hurt her again. That he was sure. He was dead now. He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone at all.

He faced her, holding her face between his hands. "And you are all the beauty I need." He placed a kiss over her lips. Their eyes closed as they got into the moment and they began to kiss in the balcony, their silhouettes barely visible by the light, uniting in one.

Then, coming from nowhere, a deadly sound was heard. A sound that paralyzed both their hearts. A gunshot. Sora looked around for the source of it. A man with brown stripped hair was covered in the shadows holding a still smoking gun. "That was for you, babe." Before she could even react, Sora felt something liquid falling to her hands. She looked at Taichi's pale features as he started dying in her hands, a gun shot in his head, mortal. There was no reaction that she could control as she began to scream full lungs. The pain could kill her right then.

"Sora, Sora… wake up." Taichi worriedly shook Sora. She was sweating badly and she was screaming. She suddenly opened her eyes, looking disoriented around and then to him. Tears rolled down her face as she hugged him tightly. She began to cry compulsive. Taichi tried to shush her rocking her in his lap where he had held her when in the middle of the night she had begun to scream, awaking him from his sleep.

"Shush, it's okay. It was a nightmare." He said trying to calm her down. Raising her puffy eyes to him, she began to speak, sobbing heavily without stopping hugging him. "I was dreaming…about…the night…Hikari's wedding." She replied. Taichi was confused as he thought about that day, so long ago, over two years. Yamato and Mimi had married after it and even he and Sora had their own wedding already planned. Daisuke, Sora's friend had finally made his way to the top and was now a very trustful member of one of the greatest teams in the world. They were living together in a new apartment, to which they had moved two months after Kouji's death. He couldn't understand what was going on. She was recording past times.

"Shush, Sora, honey. I don't understand you. Calm down. Your safe." He shushed her once more caressing her cheeks lovely. After several minutes she finally calmed down and began to relate her nightmare once more. Taichi held her head on his lap as he leaned over the head of the bed, stretching her hair and rolling it in his fingers, like he always did when they were in sweetness moments or when she was telling him something.

"It was Hikari's wedding night. We were throwing her flower petals and then we danced." She said as the memories of it flashed in her mind. "Then we went to the balcony, remember?" she asked him turning her head to see his eyes. Taichi nodded with a grin. He remembered it very well. It had been a wonderful night and later, when they had got home, he and Sora had shared her bed for the first time, sleeping in each other's arms. "Yes, I remember."

"We were kissing and then I heard a gunshot and when I looked…" her voice started to speed again as the sobs threatened to come back. "…and you had been hit… and it had been him, Taichi. It was him." she started sobbing again. Taichi held her again in his arms. Again Kouji. Even dead, he kept haunting her in her dreams. "Shush. He's dead Sora. You saw him die. He can't hurt you again." He comforted her. That was how half an hour later, both raced to sleep again, this time into better dreams and memories like the ones they had together.

Early in the next day, a lonely figure moved through the darkened apartment. She looked out the window seeing the sun beginning to rise. In her hand a cup of milk that she took little sips off. _Maybe these nightmares will never end. Maybe the pain and the memories of it will never be erased._ A pair of arms surrounded her and she turned to meet his sweet kiss. _But at least I know I'm okay now. I'm loved and I'm in love and even if I don't know what the future reserves to me, one thing will remain eternal. And that is love. My love for others and others' love for me will always exist. And that is something no Kouji can take away, no memory, no darkness. No matter how many shadows cover my path, the sun will rise in the morning. I will always survive to tell my story, because I'm a fighter and I'm not going to give up. **Ever.**_

**_END_**

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_And it's the end folks...Thank you for being so supportive and reviewing, all of you...Hope it had replied to all your expectations._

_As for my grammar, I just have to say that I'm still looking for an editor who speaks native english and has time to correct my chapters, because it gets hard for me to point out my own mistakes. For my grammar, I'm sorry, I'm trying to improve it, but I guess I can't do it alone...Thanks for pointing out, nevertheless._

_I'll be waiting for your opinion about if I should or shouldn't write a sequel. Some of you purposed me that and I find the idea interesting, even though, that if, I ever post a sequel, it won't be any time soon, since finishing this year with top grades is my objective and for that I'll have to dedicate all my efforts to study._

_Thanks again and don't forget to review._

_Sayonara, minna..._


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